Legal guide · England and Wales
A practical, source-linked guide to the legal routes for unauthorised encampments on private and public land—including common-law possession, court proceedings, police powers and local-authority directions.
Prepared for UK Bailiffs. Operational contact: Craig Whinray, Director and certificated enforcement agent with more than 20 years’ enforcement experience. Updated on 8 September 2026 using the official sources linked below, including Home Office guidance revised on 29 June 2026. This is general information, not advice on a disputed individual case.
The starting point
“Traveller eviction” is a practical description, not a single legal procedure. The landowner’s status, the occupiers’ legal status, whether buildings are involved, how entry occurred and whether statutory harm thresholds are met can all change the available response.
The issue is whether people are on land without consent and what legal or statutory conditions arise from the facts. Gypsies and Irish Travellers are protected racial groups under equality law. Instructions and decisions must focus on conduct, occupation, authority and evidence—not assumptions about identity.
Immediate answers
These short answers identify the main distinctions. The facts still need to be checked before any route is chosen.
In a suitable case involving genuine trespassers on open private land, the person entitled to possession may consider a carefully managed common-law recovery without first obtaining a possession order. Disputed authority, buildings, residential occupation, resistance or unsafe access may make court proceedings necessary or preferable.
Occupiers must be given a reasonable time to leave. What is reasonable is subjective and depends on the circumstances at the site; it is not a fixed national period. Court, police and council routes have different statutory and procedural requirements.
Police may use powers under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 only where the relevant statutory conditions are met. Those powers are discretionary. A landowner’s request does not itself require police to direct people to leave or seize vehicles.
Sections 77 and 78 of the 1994 Act provide a route for local-authority directions and, where required, a magistrates’ court order. The council must confirm that the land and occupation fall within the provisions and address its public-law duties.
Private land
A person entitled to possession may withdraw or confirm the absence of consent, require trespassers to leave and consider recovering possession without first obtaining a court order. That principle does not make every proposed physical step lawful or sensible.
Where the occupiers are genuine trespassers and authority is clear, an authorised representative may attend, communicate the landowner’s requirement and manage a departure. A written notice provides evidence of the request, although there is no universal statutory notice period for this private civil route.
The common-law principle is not a general warrant. Proposed force, interference with vehicles or possessions, forced entry, disputed boundaries, residential premises and uncertain occupation all require careful assessment. Criminal and civil liability can arise if action exceeds lawful authority.
The common-law process requires occupiers to be given a reasonable opportunity to leave. What is reasonable is subjective and may be affected by urgency, conduct, vehicle numbers, active packing, children, disability, medical needs, time of day and the safe availability of onward movement. UK Bailiffs’ two-hour target concerns our initial operational response to an accepted instruction; it is separate from the time occupants are allowed to leave.
Court possession
Civil Procedure Rules Part 55 provides the court route for recovering land occupied by trespassers. It may be preferable where authority or status is disputed, buildings are involved, resistance is expected or the landowner wants a court order capable of formal enforcement.
A claim may include named occupiers and “persons unknown” where identities are not known. The claimant must establish a right to possession superior to that of the occupiers.
For claims against persons unknown, CPR 55.6 requires service of the claim form, particulars of claim and any witness statements. One method is clearly visible attachment to the main door or another part of the land, plus letterbox delivery where practicable. Alternatively, copies may be attached to clearly visible stakes in sealed transparent envelopes addressed to the occupiers. The exact requirements of the rule must be followed.
If possession is ordered and not given, formal enforcement may follow through the appropriate county-court warrant or High Court writ. The correct route must be confirmed from the order and court procedure.
Interim possession orders are a specialist procedure with strict statutory and procedural conditions. They are not a universal emergency shortcut for every encampment or every type of land.
Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994
A private request to remove an encampment does not compel police to use statutory powers. The police decision-maker must be satisfied that the relevant conditions are met and must decide what response is necessary and proportionate.
Police may direct trespassers to leave where two or more people are trespassing with a common purpose of residing, the occupier has taken reasonable steps to ask them to leave, and either damage, disruption or distress has occurred, or six or more vehicles are present.
Police may direct trespassers to leave for an available suitable pitch elsewhere in the same local-authority area when the statutory conditions are met, including a request by the occupier or their representative.
Section 60C applies to people aged 18 or over where all statutory conditions are met: residence or intended residence without consent, a vehicle or intended vehicle presence, specified significant harm caused or likely, and a qualifying request to leave or remove property. Failure to comply as soon as reasonably practicable, or prohibited return, may be an offence; reasonable excuse is a statutory protection. Police hold the associated arrest and seizure powers; forfeiture under section 60E is for the court following conviction.
Section 60C requires all applicable statutory elements. Section 61 has different thresholds, but it is still a discretionary police power with its own conditions. The Crime and Policing Act 2026 reduced the prohibited-return period in the relevant provisions from twelve months to three months.
Local-authority land and functions
A local authority may, within section 77 of the 1994 Act, direct unauthorised campers residing in vehicles to leave qualifying land and remove their vehicles or other property. If the direction is not complied with, the authority may seek an order from the magistrates’ court under section 78.
The council must identify the land, confirm that section 77 applies, make and serve the direction correctly and document the evidence supporting any later application.
Public bodies must consider their statutory equality and human-rights obligations. Relevant welfare enquiries do not create an automatic right to remain, but urgent needs and proportionality must be addressed within the decision.
At the scene
Police and private enforcement have different legal functions. Police presence does not by itself validate a civil removal.
| Police may | Police attendance does not automatically |
|---|---|
| Prevent or respond to a breach of the peace | Convert a private civil instruction into a police eviction. |
| Investigate criminal damage, threats or other alleged offences | Confirm the landowner’s title, civil authority or the occupiers’ legal status. |
| Consider sections 60C, 61 or 62A on the evidence | Require use of those powers merely because a landowner requests it. |
| Exercise statutory arrest or seizure powers where lawful | Give private enforcement agents police powers or immunity from liability. |
Avoiding unsafe assumptions
False. Trespass is ordinarily civil. Criminal offences and police powers require additional statutory conditions.
False. Police assess their own powers and exercise operational discretion on the evidence.
False for some genuine private-land trespass cases, but a court route may be necessary or safer depending on the premises, status, dispute and proposed action.
False. Occupiers must be given a reasonable time to leave, but what is reasonable is subjective and depends on the circumstances of the individual attendance.
False. A private agent acts on the authority of the person entitled to possession. Certification does not create the common-law right.
False. Access, damage, premises, occupation and authority need fact-specific assessment; a locked gate is not a complete legal test.
Before action
Provide information already known and available. It assists route assessment, operational planning and any request for police or court action.
Do not approach occupants, enter the encampment or take photographs to complete this checklist. Provide the information already available; UK Bailiffs will identify any further assessment required.
UK Bailiffs operational process
We review the apparent right to possession, instruction and site boundaries.
We distinguish apparent trespass from tenancy, licence, residential or disputed occupation.
Vehicles, access, hazards, welfare information, timing and resources are assessed.
The accepted route is documented, managed and reported with material updates.
Our operational target is initial attendance within two hours of accepting a traveller or trespasser instruction, subject to location, completed authority and risk checks, and team availability. We confirm the expected attendance time when accepting the instruction. This is an attendance target—not a guaranteed clearance time or the period occupants are allowed to leave.
Authoritative sources
These links go directly to legislation, court rules and current government guidance rather than secondary summaries.
Part V contains the principal police and local-authority provisions discussed in this guide, including sections 60C–62F and 77–80.
Read Part V on legislation.gov.uk →The guidance summarises the available police powers and proportionality considerations. It was updated on 29 June 2026 to reflect the Crime and Policing Act 2026.
Read the current guidance on GOV.UK →Section 168 reduced the prohibited-return period in sections 60C, 61, 62, 62B and 62C of the 1994 Act from twelve months to three months.
Read section 168 →Part 55 governs possession claims, including claims against trespassers, service on persons unknown and the specialist interim-possession procedure.
Read CPR Part 55 →Section 6 can criminalise using or threatening violence to secure entry without lawful authority where someone present opposes entry and the person seeking entry knows this. Its conditions and exceptions require specific assessment.
Read section 6 →The Public Sector Equality Duty applies to public authorities, including police and councils, when exercising their functions.
Read section 149 →The 2026 Act change matters because older pages may still state that a person directed to leave is prohibited from returning for twelve months. The current period in the relevant provisions is three months. The underlying police powers remain conditional and discretionary.
This page provides general information, not legal advice on a specific site. Case law, facts, land status and the proposed action can materially affect the correct route.
Frequently asked questions
Trespass to land is generally a civil matter. Criminal offences may arise from separate conduct or where all conditions of a statutory offence—such as section 60C of the 1994 Act—are met. An unauthorised encampment does not, by itself, prove a criminal offence.
No. A genuine trespass case on open private land may permit a carefully managed common-law recovery without first obtaining an order. Court proceedings may nevertheless be necessary or preferable where status or authority is disputed, premises are involved, resistance is likely or the proposed action creates unacceptable risk.
Occupiers must be given a reasonable time to leave. What is reasonable is subjective and depends on the circumstances at the site, including safety, welfare information, vehicle numbers, conduct and whether people are actively preparing to depart. UK Bailiffs’ two-hour response target is operational and does not determine this period.
Only if the statutory conditions are satisfied and police decide to exercise the power. The occupier must first have taken reasonable steps to ask the trespassers to leave, and the section’s residence, numbers and harm-or-vehicle conditions must be assessed.
The Crime and Policing Act 2026 reduced the prohibited-return period in the relevant provisions of the 1994 Act from twelve months to three months. Whether a particular prohibition applies depends on the statutory power used and the facts.
Vehicle movement or recovery requires specific authority, a safe operational basis and careful assessment of ownership, occupation, damage and interference risks. Police seizure under the 1994 Act is a separate statutory power and is not available to private enforcement agents.
The legal right to possession does not disappear, but immediate welfare and safety information can affect timing, resources and proportionality. Police and councils have additional public-law obligations; relevant agencies may need to address urgent needs.
Need operational help?
Tell us where the encampment is, who controls the land, what has occurred and what information is already safely available. We will identify the information needed to assess the appropriate route. Submitting an enquiry does not mean an instruction has been accepted or attendance arranged.
Dealing with someone living or sleeping in a van, campervan or motorhome? See our occupied-vehicle removal service.
