Unauthorised encampments on private land

1 About unauthorised encampments

An unauthorised encampment is a group of people with caravans, vehicles or other temporary homes camping on land without the permission of the person who owns it. People who own land have the right to choose who can use it.

An unauthorised encampment can cause problems including:

• damage to the environment
• disruption to the local area
• concerns of people living nearby

Being on someone's land without permission is trespassing. This is usually a civil matter. The landowner and the people camping must sort it out together.

The landowner is responsible for removing the camp from their land. They must also pay any costs.

2 What you can do

The first thing to do, is to take notes about the situation including:

• number of vehicles
• any damage that has happened
• what the people in the camp are doing

Police involvement

The police may be able to get involved if:

• there are six or more vehicles
• the people in the encampment have caused damage, disruption, or distress
• the encampment is on a highway or public right of way

Legislation they can use includes:

• Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (Sections 61, 62A)
• Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022

You can report criminal acts or anti-social behaviour, such as noise disturbances or littering, to the police.

Contact Sussex Police by:

• Phone: 101 - only dial 999 in an emergency.
• Online: Fill in their unauthorised encampments report form

Other support

Your district or borough council may give you guidance. They cannot act for you.

3 Legal ways to remove an encampment

We do not intend this information as legal advice. Landowners should get their own legal advice about dealing with unauthorised encampments.

As the landowner, you must arrange the removal of an unauthorised encampment. You must pay any costs for this.

There are 2 legal ways to arrange removing an encampment.

Common law notice

You may serve a Common Law Notice that requires the trespassers to leave.

A Common Law Notice should clearly state:

• that the occupants are trespassing
• a specific date and time by which they must leave the land
• the consequences of failing to comply

We recommend that you use a solicitor or enforcement agent to make sure the notice meets legal requirements.

Your can serve the notice yourself, or another person (such as a certified enforcement agent, bailiff, or solicitor) can do it for you. If possible, you should hand-deliver the notice to the occupants. You can also post it visibly on the site. You should photograph this for evidence.

If the people trespassing got onto the site peacefully, you must, by law, ask them to leave before any enforcement action. If they used force or caused damage, you can remove them without notice.

You can get certified bailiffs to evict the encampment if they do not leave by the date on the notice. They will verbally request the people leave. If they refuse to leave, the bailiffs can use reasonable force to remove them and their vehicles.

If you use excessive force, even if bailiffs have evicted the encampment for you, people can make a claim against you.

We recommend that you inform the police when you are going to evict people from your land. If police are at the eviction, they can prevent a breach of the peace.

Apply for a Civil Court Possession Order

Under Part 55 of the Civil Procedure Rules you can apply for a Civil Court Possession Order. There is a special process that allows landowners to get court orders against trespassers. You can find details on the Ministry of Justice website.

To start a possession claim, you should send the correct papers to your local county court.

As the landowner, you must serve notice on the unauthorised encampment. This must give a date when the trespassers must leave. The date could be immediate or in any other reasonable amount of time. You should hand-deliver the notice to the people in the encampment. You can also post it visibly on the site. You should photograph this for evidence.

The information you give must include:

• an N5 claim form for possession of property
• an N121 particulars of claim for possession
• any witness statements that form the basis of what you are telling the court

You should serve the claim to the people in the unauthorised encampment at least 2 full days before the hearing of the case.

Depending on the availability of the court, it may take several days or weeks for a hearing to take place.

You can apply for a warrant of possession and a bailiff’s appointment if the encampment does not leave by themselves within a reasonable time. To do this, you will need to use a form N325 - request for a warrant of possession of land.

4 Preventing unauthorised encampments

Some land is more at risk or may suffer from unauthorised encampments a number of times. There are things you can do to protect your land.

Our suggestions do not cover everything you can do. They also do not guarantee that your land will stay safe.

You might want to think about:

• where your land might be at risk
• securing entry points with:
  • gates
  • barriers
  • mounds
  • obstacles
  • height barriers
• putting up signs showing private ownership and no trespassing
• installing CCTV or other monitoring systems

Be aware of planning rules and the environment. We suggest you get legal advice before you make any changes.

5 Waste removal

Local authorities do not have to remove waste from private land. The landowner must remove the waste and get rid of it legally.

Contact your district or borough council If you:

• need help with removing waste
• are worried that waste is, or might become, hazardous or a danger to public health

They can advise you about safe waste disposal. 

Find out more on our report fly tipping page.