Case study - removing unauthorised occupiers from residential property

An occupier living in a property with no tenancy agreement and does not pay rent, what is their legal status and how do you evict them?

Our client wanted to obtain possession of his property but the occupier (who was a family member) was refusing to vacate.

The relationship had broken down between the parties, forcing our client to leave his property.

The Legal Position

On the basis that the occupation had always been without express written agreement and no payments were made to our client whatsoever during the period of occupation, we concluded that the occupier was not a tenant and instead had the legal status of an excluded (unprotected licensee) which could be terminated upon giving notice. On the expiry of the notice, the continuing occupation would constitute a trespass.

Action Taken and Outcome

• We sent a letter to the occupier in the first instance setting out the legal position and provided a notice to quit. We explained that on the expiry of the notice would lead to him becoming a trespasser and we explained the repercussions in that regard.

• Once the deadline expired and the occupier hadn’t vacated, we issued trespasser proceedings and were successful at the first hearing.

• The Judge granted a possession order forthwith and our client was awarded his legal costs.

Our client was extremely happy with the outcome given that he was forced to leave his own home which of course caused him a great amount of disruption.

Taylor Rose has a specialist property litigation department that has an in-depth knowledge of disputes of this nature. We were able to provide our client with clear advice and take the appropriate course of action to secure possession of the property as soon as possible.