You can easily be ejected and arrested if you are squatting in Southwark.
If you enter someone's property in Southwark and live there without their consent and permission, you are squatting.
Squatting is generally used as the final option by a homeless individual in Bermondsey, Elephant and Castle, or Bankside.
For the homeless, it is not a lasting solution because it is certain that you will be removed from the property in Southwark, and probably arrested too.
If you lived in a property in Greater London after your tenancy or licence came to an end you are considered as a squatter.
Squatting is a criminal offense in a residential property in Southwark.
You'd most probably be arrested and in case of a conviction, you can face:
Sent to prison in Southwark for a maximum of six months
Be penalised up to £5,000
You may not be arrested in Greater London if you:
Staying on a property in Southwark after your license or tenancy ended
Entered the apartment in Greater London genuinely thinking you were a tenant - a fraudulent letting agent rented the property to you without the right to
You are a traveller or gipsy living on an unauthorized site in Southwark
As a Southwark squatter, you can be evicted if:
The Greater London police aren't interested in arresting anyone
The owner of the property in Elephant and Castle, Bermondsey, or Bankside doesn't want the police to be involved
You live in a commercial property in Southwark
The owner in Southwark can lock you out of the property whilst you are not there.
In case a squatter in a property in Southwark refuse to move out, the owner may seek a court injunction in Greater London.
Harassment and threats of violence are against the law.
The owner of the property is bound to deliver copy of documents with possession claim to the squatter through post or letterbox no less than five days before the proceedings of the court in Greater London or at least two days before in case of a commercialized property.
This must be inclusive of a copy of the possession order, a defence form, and all the important details regarding the court heating,
You can challenge the owner's case if you are not a squatter in Southwark.
Do this by returning the defence form and attending the court hearing in Southwark.
However, if you are squatting, you will be ordered by the court in Greater London to vacate the property in Southwark without delay.
If you refuse to move out, the owner can request the court bailiffs in Greater London to evict you.
As they do not have the right to be living where they are, squatters in Elephant and Castle, Bermondsey, or Bankside are considered as homeless.
You can apply to your local council in Southwark for assistance as a homeless person.
The Greater London council should provide you with advice on how to find somewhere to stay in Southwark.
Some areas in Greater London offer an emergency service to homeless people to give them an option instead of squatting.
The Southwark council may have to give you emergency residence if you are in priority need, such as being expectant, having children or are vulnerable.
You don't have access to such provision if you are affected by residences or immigration restrictions, such as people whose immigration status doesn't give them access to public funds and asylum seekers in Elephant and Castle, Bankside, or Bermondsey are examples of people under such restrictions.
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