Squatters in Wakefield are prone to being easily evicted and arrested.
Squatting means going inside a property in Wakefield and living there without the consent of the landlord or the tenant.
Squatting is typically a final option for people in Wakefield, Batley, or Dewsbury who are homeless.
For the homeless, it is not a long-term alternative as you will be evicted from the Wakefield premises and most probably an arrest.
You are not a squatter because you live in a house in West Yorkshire when your lease or license has expired.
It is a crime to squat in a residential property in Wakefield.
You can be arrested and convicted and you may be:
Sent to prison in Wakefield for a maximum of six months
Charges up to £5,000
You are exempted from an arrest in West Yorkshire in case you:
Staying on a property in Wakefield after your license or tenancy ended
Entered the apartment in West Yorkshire genuinely thinking you were a tenant - a fraudulent letting agent rented the property to you without the right to
A Gypsy or Traveller living on an unapproved site in Wakefield
Wakefield squatters can be evicted for many reasons, such as:
The police in West Yorkshire are not prepared to make an arrest
The owner of the property in Wakefield, Batley, or Dewsbury does not want to call the police
He/she lives in a commercial property in Wakefield
The owner in Wakefield can change the locks of the doors when you're not at home.
If in the property in Wakefield there is anyone present, if you refuse to leave the owner must get an order from the court in West Yorkshire.
Just know that threats to any kind of violence are illegal for an owner.
The law requires that the owner must post a copy of their claim for possession forms by the letterbox or fix it to the front door and he must paste his claim a minimum of five days before the court hearing in West Yorkshire for a residential building, or two days if it is a commercial building.
This must be inclusive of a copy of the possession order, a defence form, and all the important details regarding the court heating,
If you happen not to be a squatter in Wakefield, you will have to challenge the case of the property owner.
Do this by returning the defence form and attending the court hearing in Wakefield.
If you are a squatter, you will be ordered by the court in West Yorkshire to leave the land in Wakefield on the earliest basis.
If you don't vacate the property, bailiffs from the court in West Yorkshire may evict you on the owner's order.
Squatters in Wakefield, Batley, or Dewsbury are classified as homeless because they don't have permission to live where they are.
If you are a squatter, apply to the local council in Wakefield to receive help as homeless individual.
Local council in West Yorkshire can assist you in finding a place for stay in Wakefield if you are homeless and also single.
Some areas in West Yorkshire offer an emergency service to homeless people to give them an option instead of squatting.
The council in Wakefield may have to provide you with emergency housing if you are pregnant, have children or are vulnerable.
If your homelessness is as a result of immigration issues, for instance, if you are seeking asylum in Wakefield, Dewsbury, or Batley or if you cannot benefit from public funds due to your immigration status, then the council is under no obligation to make emergency or extended-period housing provisions for you.
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