Squatters can be evicted and easily arrested in Stevenage.
Squatting is when a person deliberately gains access to your property in Stevenage and starts living there without the owner's or the tenant's consent.
Usually when you are homeless in Stevenage, Hitchin, or Letchworth Garden City, squatting is a last resort.
This option is a temporary measure if you are homeless as you will be evicted by the property owner in Stevenage and you may be arrested or fined.
You are not a squatter if you stayed at the property in Hertfordshire after the end of the tenancy term or license.
You'd be committing a criminal offense if you're squatting in a residential property in Stevenage.
You can be arrested and convicted and you may be:
Sentenced for 6 months in prison in Stevenage
Fined up to £5000
However, you cannot be arrested as a squatter in Hertfordshire if:
You remained in a rented property in Stevenage even after the end of your tenancy or license
You truly went into a premise in Hertfordshire believing that you are a tenant only to find out that you were conned by a fake renting agent
You are only a gypsy or traveller camping on an unlicensed land in Stevenage
A squatter in Stevenage can easily be evicted if:
The police in Hertfordshire are reluctant to arrest anyone
The owner of the property in Stevenage, Hitchin, or Letchworth Garden City will not involve the police
Living in commercial premises in Stevenage
The Stevenage property owner may change the locks to the squatter's room(s) while the latter is away.
When you or any other squatter continue to remain on the property in Stevenage against the landowner's wishes, a Hertfordshire court order will be gotten.
It is against the law for the owner towards you to threaten or use violence.
The landowner should serve a print of ownership claim forms either via a letterbox or have it placed on the door of the squatter 5 days before the court hearings in Hertfordshire or 2 days for people staying in commercial premises.
His claim forms sent to the squatter must include a defence form and details of the time and place of the court hearing.
You will have to challenge the owner's claim if you are not a squatter in Stevenage.
Do this by going to the court hearing in Stevenage on the date specified and return the defence forms to the court.
If the Hertfordshire court rules that you are a squatter, you would be ordered to vacate the Stevenage property within a short timeframe.
The owner can take help from court bailiffs in Hertfordshire if you don't leave the property after court orders.
A squatter in Hitchin, Stevenage, or Letchworth Garden City is generally classified as homeless since they have no right to be staying where you live.
Go to your local council in Stevenage if you are homeless and ask for help.
If you are homeless and unmarried, the Hertfordshire council would advise you on how to find a place to live in Stevenage.
You may also receive emergency help from specialist services in some areas in Hertfordshire rather than sleeping outside.
If you have children or if you are pregnant, the council in Stevenage will provide you with emergency housing as well and the same applies to the vulnerable.
However, if immigration restrictions such as no recourse to public funds applies to you or you are an asylum seeker in Letchworth Garden City, Hitchin, or Stevenage, then the council does not need to provide any emergency shelter or long-term property.
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