Criminal Law Act 1977.
The Criminal Law Act 1977 was brought in to amend the law with respect to criminal conspiracy, to restrict the use or threat of violence for securing entry into any premises and to penalise unauthorised entry or remaining on premises in certain circumstances, among other amendments to the Legal Aid Act 1974, the Rabies Act 1974, etc.
Section 6 of the act is well-known among squatters for being the piece of law which gives you some protection when you are using a building as your home. While it is certainly not “fool-proof” and does not mean that you are “allowed” to be in a property, squatters regularly put up “Section 6 notices” or “legal warnings” in order to remind police, property owners and other people that violent entry into the premises without the permission of those in possession of the building (the squatters) would be unlawful and (technically) punishable by law. Of course, this did not always stop unlawful evictions and violence and it would be an extremely hard to take a case to court against someone when you had no legal ownership over the building.
Additionally, a new law was brought in in 2012 called “LASPO” – the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (see separate article for an explanation of this law and for examples of the old legal warning and the new ones that have been made since LASPO was commenced).
Despite the scare stories you will be able to find in the newspapers and other media about people coming home from holiday to find squatters in their homes and the “rightful owners” of the property not being able to do anything about it for months due to “squatters’ rights”, these stories are either untrue or exaggerated. Yes, people have made mistakes and ended up trying to squat a place that wasn’t empty or was about to have work started on it, but the police would be able to treat any such person who refused to leave the property the same as they would a burglar, by forcing entry and forcibly removing such people. Even before “LASPO”, there were two pieces of legislation which protected home owners (who actually used their buildings) and people about to move into a place. Changes to section 6 Criminal Law Act 1977 were brought in by the Criminal Justice Act and Public Order Act 1994 (which was intended at first to make trespass and squatting a criminal offence instead of a civil matter).
The Law.
Section 6 – Violence for securing entry.
(1)Subject to the following provisions of this section, any person who, without lawful authority, uses or threatens violence for the purpose of securing entry into any premises for himself or for any other person is guilty of an offence, provided that—
(a)there is someone present on those premises at the time who is opposed to the entry which the violence is intended to secure; and
(b)the person using or threatening the violence knows that that is the case.
(1A)Subsection (1) above does not apply to a person who is a displaced residential occupier or a protected intending occupier of the premises in question or who is acting on behalf of such an occupier; and if the accused adduces sufficient evidence that he was, or was acting on behalf of, such an occupier he shall be presumed to be, or to be acting on behalf of, such an occupier unless the contrary is proved by the prosecution.
(2)2Subject to subsection (1A) above, the fact that a person has any interest in or right to possession or occupation of any premises shall not for the purposes of subsection (1) above constitute lawful authority for the use or threat of violence by him or anyone else for the purpose of securing his entry into those premises.
(3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(4)It is immaterial for the purposes of this section—
(a)whether the violence in question is directed against the person or against property; and
(b)whether the entry which the violence is intended to secure is for the purpose of acquiring possession of the premises in question or for any other purpose.
(5)A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or to both.
(6)A constable in uniform may arrest without warrant anyone who is, or whom he, with reasonable cause, suspects to be, guilty of an offence under this section.
(7)Section 12 below contains provisions which apply for determining when any person is to be regarded for the purposes of this Part of this Act as a displaced residential occupier of any premises or of any access to any premises and section 12A below contains provisions which apply for determining when any person is to be regarded for the purposes of this Part of this Act as a protected intending occupier of any premises or of any access to any premises.
Section 7 – Adverse occupation of residential premises.
The Criminal Justice Act replaced section 7 of the Criminal Law Act 1977 which was concerned with “trespassers failing to leave premises after being requested to do so by specified persons” with the following:
(1)Subject to the following provisions of this section and to section 12A(9) below, any person who is on any premises as a trespasser after having entered as such is guilty of an offence if he fails to leave those premises on being required to do so by or on behalf of—
(a)a displaced residential occupier of the premises; or
(b)an individual who is a protected intending occupier of the premises.
(2)In any proceedings for an offence under this section it shall be a defence for the accused to prove that he believed that the person requiring him to leave the premises was not a displaced residential occupier or protected intending occupier of the premises or a person acting on behalf of a displaced residential occupier or protected intending occupier.
(3)In any proceedings for an offence under this section it shall be a defence for the accused to prove—
(a)that the premises in question are or form part of premises used mainly for non-residential purposes; and
(b)that he was not on any part of the premises used wholly or mainly for residential purposes.
(4)Any reference in the preceding provisions of this section to any premises includes a reference to any access to them, whether or not any such access itself constitutes premises, within the meaning of this Part of this Act.
(5)A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or to both.
(6)A constable in uniform may arrest without warrant anyone who is, or whom he, with reasonable cause, suspects to be, guilty of an offence under this section.
(7)Section 12 below contains provisions which apply for determining when any person is to be regarded for the purposes of this Part of this Act as a displaced residential occupier of any premises or of any access to any premises and section 12A below contains provisions which apply for determining when any person is to be regarded for the purposes of this Part of this Act as a protected intending occupier of any premises or of any access to any premises.
The Criminal Justice Act also inserted an extra section (12A) into the Criminal Law Act which set out who would be seen as a “Protected Intending Occupier” and would therefore be protected under the law if someone was occupying the building they were to move into.