Trespass to land - Commons Library Standard Note

Published 22 February 2012 | Standard notes SN05116

Authors: Alexander Horne

Topic: Civil law, Crime

This note provides some background information about issues relating to trespass to land. It is worth noting at the outset that in general terms, trespass to land is not a criminal offence in the absence of some special statutory provision that makes it so.

In civil law trespass to land consists of any unjustifiable intrusion by a person upon the land in possession of another. Civil trespass is actionable in the courts.

Two separate standards notes on Gypsies and travellers: camp sites and trespass and Squatting in residential premises are also available.

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