squatters in our flat

[Saila]

my parents just bought a flat in elephant and castle

they tried to enter the property on tuesday, but the locks had changed and there are squatters in there...

they've moved in, furniture and everything

obviously my parents are devastated and the police wont do anything

is there any advice out there as to what to do?

anyone had any experience of this?

[Pearson]

Freeloading scum!

Do you have any idea how they got in?

How long was the place left empty.

[Saila]

not sure - as we don't know when the previous owners moved out

this is all very new news for us but we're going to speak with teh neighbour

our locksmith spoke to her and she's an elderly lady who was very upset by it all, saying they were a bad bunch

god this is really stressful

[Huguenot]

Legally you need to move very quickly - within 28 days of discovering them.

You'll apply for an Interim Posession Order (click here for details), and when it's granted the squatters must leave within 24 hours.

It usually takes a few days to process, and you can get a solicitor ro apply for this for you. There will be costs for both the solictor and the application itself.

At the same time you must apply for a Posession Order, which is the final, formal, agreement. However, this takes longer to process, so the Interim should be done if you want access quickly.

Your squatters can contest the Interim Order, but they are still required to vacate the premises whilst appealing.

[Saila]

thanks very much for htis

do you know what the min time is that this'll get sorted?

weeks/months? days?

[Huguenot]

The application will take you a day or so, the processsing will take a couple of days, but the order will be granted straight away.

You need to serve the order on the squatters immediately by pinning it to the front door (take a photo of it on the door)

They then have 5 days to leave. If they don't leave you notify the court baliff, who will rock up with the police to evict them by force if necessary.

So the whole process can be completed in two weeks.

People like these guys may be able to look after the whole thing for you for a price. They're based in Battersea. I should add that I've never used them, so it's not a recommendation, just a thought.

[Keef]

If none of that works, get a baseball bat!

[SteveT]

If none of that works, get a baseball bat! wrote Keef

Half a dozen guys from the carpark of B&Q explain that they have work but you will have to break the door down to get in to do it, take half a dozen baseball bats or pick-axe handles and a sledge hammer or a petrol driven chain saw.

Crash into the place with the sledge or the saw and then stand back to allow those who are willing to walk out, offer a fifty pound note each for those who leave, the rest are dragged out double quick without hesitation.

The door will need replacing but the guy's you have hired will cope with that and any other works caused by the squatters.

It is your place and you belong there, you have all rites on your side spare them nothing they should not be there.

An axe or a machette is more useful than firearms in this type of negotiation.

The action takes a few minutes and then the place will be restored back to the rightful owner, your good self.

Alternatively you can take a can of petrol and pour that through the letter box then call the police that you smell petrol in the flat and they will evict who ever is in there which can be a less exciting way of acheiving your goal.

Good luck and may the devil be with you.

[karter]

Saila, that's good advice from Huguenot, as always.

These services may be coming to a property in ED shortly.B)

[Jeremy]

Take Hugo's advice, and get cracking with it straight away. Two weeks sounds ambitious in my opinion, but let's hope that his estimate is accurate.

As tempting as it is to try to forcibly remove them, it will almost certainly get you into all sorts of trouble.

Hmmm... If it wasn't a Friday afternoon, you would have had at least a couple of people defending the squatters by now...

[Saila]

i'll give you a quick run down of what's happened so far;

my parents managed to get in with a locksmith and changed the locks on tuesday

my brother then went round today and they have managed to get back in and change them again :(

they really seem to know what they're doing

they are a gang of chileans - pretty well built guys you wouldn't wanna mess with. So i'm not sure the tough approach is the right approach. We're going to get that firm in that hugenot suggested (just got a quote from them, will cost at least ?1000 all in) We'll start the ball rolling on monday. fingers crossed it wont take long

we'll have to get the whole place boarded up so that we can then fix grills and cages etc to stop them getting access again

urgh - i have that sick feeling you get when something's gone very wrong

also - i rang round electricity and gas companies to see if we can cut off their supplies but we're not allowed to. It's illegal and against their rights. Great - so we have a nice fat bill to pay when we finally get access....

[SteveT]

I expect they got into this country on student visas or some such nonsense.

Bar studs.

[DJKillaQueen]

That's awful Saila. Huguenot has given you exactly the right advice. I would also suggest that once the Bailiffs and Police have moved them out that you put someone in there right away - to care take the place (beause if they come back then they are breaking and entering and not squatting - for which they can be criminally prosecuted). Grills and cages can easily be removed with something as simple as an angle grinder I'm afraid.

[Saila]

our builder (barry) who was meant to start work on monday, has offered to sleep there and protect the place once this is all over. He's pretty tough and will have a direct line to the police...

welovehim

what can we do if grates don't work? is there a better alternative? or do we just hope they go away?

[Saila]

DJKillaQueen Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> That's awful Saila. Huguenot has given you exactly

> the right advice.

he absolutely has and i'm very grateful indeed

[DJKillaQueen]

Sadly the only way to keep them out is to have someone living there as soon as possible. Organised squatters are experts at getting into the most heavily boarded up of properties.

[Huguenot]

Mainly you need to occupy the building. I don't think you'll have much trouble if you do, most squatters aren't idiots.

The only problem is that you can't actually sublet it until you have the full possession order, which may take a couple of months. You're quite within your rights to put friends and family there, so the builder is fine. If your parents have bought it as buy-to-let you may need to think quite closely about this.

It was not a great idea to gain entry with a locksmith, you should avoid this. You're in danger of a criminal record for an illegal attempt at eviction. You need to calm your family down a bit and just do the paperwork.

[Saila]

we had no idea about the locksmith thing... in fact we were advised that if we can get in then we had the flat back

jeezus - heart lept again

fingers xed this works out

[karter]

good luck Saila, you and your parents are going down the right road though. All else fails get Keef to come round with his baseball bat.

[Huguenot]

No worries.

In the main you just need to get the house back. It'll take a couple of weeks. You certainly don't want it to be personal, you don't want a battle, you just need a good general solution.

Have a couple of cigarettes and just imagine there was a delay and a few extra quid in the purchase process. You'll have forgotten this in a year. ;-)

[Ridgley]

I sorry to hear, about this I can see you have been given the right advise.

[Saila]

update

when we knocked on the door saying 'what are you doing in our flat - this is OUR flat'

they called the police and accused us of threatening behaviour... omfg

thankfully the police were lovely and actually helped us :)

they went in and said to the chilean guy -

'you can't trash the place now as i've seen it in this condition - anything trashed and we know it was you'

you have to be so proactive in these situations.... to get your OWN house back :(

what struck me though is - if the police can sit in OUR flat and have conversations like that ... surely they can say this isn't your home?

anyway - all we can do is fill out the right forms and wait... on hugenot's advice.

[Pearson]

Jeez!

How is it that a burglar who's in your house for ten minutes would face prison.

Yet squatters can sit there, in your home, in front of the Law safe and protected whilst you're left out on the street??

Whatever happened to 'a mans home is his Castle'

Ffs, this country is screwed up :X

[DJKillaQueen]

Technically that's what they have done...stolen someone's property.

Mind you, it used to be far harder to get squatters out. Used to take years in some cases.

I'm guessing this lot know exactly what they are doing, and will go once the formal possession orders are in place, to no doubt put someone else through the same miserable process.

[Saila]

i'm finding myself spending all my time on google, searching and researching all the ins and outs about my parent's rights over their property