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Squatters and unauthorised occupants

Find out what you can do if you become aware of the presence of squatters in a property that should otherwise be vacant, and what action can be taken to get them out of the property.

Vacant properties

Anyone who is unfortunate enough to have lived next door to a property that has been left empty for a long period of time will understand the sheer frustration and misery such a situation can create. Poorly maintained empty properties are not only unsightly and unattractive, they seriously reduce the value of adjoining properties.

Some of the problems associated with vacant / empty properties are listed below:

  • empty homes represent waste, financial expense and missed opportunity. and they can blight communities, attract vandals and squatters and tie up the resources of local authorities and the emergency services
  • bringing empty homes back into use is a sustainable way to meet future housing demand and helps to alleviate pressure to develop greenfield sites
  • empty homes can quickly fall into disrepair and the longer they remain empty the more likely it is that they will become derelict and prohibitively expensive to bring back into use
  • the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors estimates that properties adjoining poorly maintained empty homes can be devalued
  • the Empty Homes Agency claims that its research has shown that refurbishing old buildings could save more carbon dioxide emissions than building environmentally friendly new ones over the short term
  • rates will be payable on empty homes from 1 October 2011

The Housing Executive's (NIHE) Empty Homes Strategy:

Squatting

Squatting is when someone is occupying an empty or abandoned property which they don’t own or rent, and without the owner's permission. This is often without the owner's knowledge and without any legal right to do so. Simply being on another person’s property without their permission is not, of itself, a criminal offence. But if squatters commit offences, such as criminal damage or theft for example, their behaviour is punishable under the general criminal law and the police can take action against them.

Empty Housing Executive or housing association properties are usually awaiting repair, redecoration or re-letting to other tenants and the Housing Executive or association are keen to ensure they stay empty so that people who are on the waiting list have the opportunity to find a home.

The Housing Executive takes the issue of squatting very seriously as it prevents a property being allocated to those from the waiting list who need it most. Where a Housing Executive is illegally occupied, the Housing Executive will take immediate steps to recover possession of the property through the legal system.

Reporting squatting

Sometimes the first person to know that squatters are living in a particular property is a neighbour. If you see someone breaking into an empty property you should call the police straight away and also the Housing Executive or housing association.

Getting squatters removed

The laws on squatting are quite complex. In some cases it may be difficult for the council to evict someone who is squatting, especially if they have been in the property for a long time.

It may be several months before a property that squatters are living in can be let out again. This can be because of the time it takes to bring a court action to move squatters out, or the repairs that may have to be carried out when they have been moved.  

Squatters’ rights regarding house purchase

Squatters are not eligible to purchase a Housing Executive property. In the special circumstances where squatters are subsequently granted the legal tenancy, they receive discount entitlement from the date on which the tenancy was granted.

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