If you're living on an exclusively owned Traveller/Gypsy camp site in Brixham, Marldon, or Torquay, your freedom would depend on the type of camp site you're living within in Paignton, and if the site itself is protected with the correct legal permission and licences.
If you live in a protected site in Paignton, you have more rights than inhabitants who live on an unprotected site, which include more protection against eviction in Devon.
Staying on an unprotected site in Paignton means you are residing on a site without planning permission and licence in Devon, which doesn't guarantee you protection against eviction.
Under common law as a tenant being evicted from Marldon, Brixham, or Torquay, you have the right to be served with a minimum of 4 weeks' notice, however on this case to implement your rights will be difficult in Paignton.
If you are taking up a place on a private land in Paignton and you didn't get the permission of the landowner, you would still be evicted.
In certain cases, the property holder in Devon may not be aware of your settlement on their property until the locals start complaining.
It may be helpful to get in touch with the land owner in Paignton and explain the situation, if your encampment in Torquay, Brixham, or Marldon is not a disturbance, and they are not using the land for any purpose at the moment, they may even welcome your stay.
The Paignton landowner can take the following steps if they want you to empty the place:
Applying for a possession order in the court in Devon which will need you to leave the Paignton land
Request the council in Paignton to evict you
Ask the police in Paignton to evict you
Remove you from their Devon land by themselves
If you settle on an authorized site without the consent of the owner in Marldon, Torquay, or Brixham, the legal occupier or landowner can apply for an eviction order in Paignton in court to evict you from their piece of land.
In this case, a Summary Cause Summons (this is a document from the court) will be sent to you with the date of the case hearing in Paignton.
If a summons is sent to you, consult a law centre or Denbigh Franks immediately.
The available Citizens Advice may assist you finding a lawyer in Paignton who can help you.
When the case comes to court, you won't have any defence because you're accused of trespassing on the owner's land in Paignton, but the solicitor's can use the humanitarian grounds to delay the eviction in Devon, for instance, they can claim that you cannot move on because of an ill family member.
If an eviction order is given by the sheriff in Paignton, you will have to leave right away.
The interdict is an order from the civil court in Torquay, Brixham, or Marldon that tells someone to stay away from a place or person in Devon.
If the landowner in Paignton files for a prohibition, court papers will be sent to you outlining what the restriction allows you to do.
For instance, you'd receive an interdict from the court ordering you to stay away from the owner's land in Paignton.
On receipt of the order, you are to contact a solicitor in Devon to help defend your action in court.
You can also find information about the relevant solicitor in Paignton with the help of your local Citizens Advice.
Your action will be defended in court by your lawyer.
Prior to the issuing an interdict, the court in Marldon, Torquay, or Brixham should analyse you condition.
For instance, the sheriff will most like not to give an interdict in Paignton if the order will cause serious hardship to your household.
If you don't move from Paignton even after the interdict is granted, you might be arrested if interdict gives police in Devon the power to do so.
If the landowner in Paignton has proof that you have not stuck to the agreed terms, then you could be faced with a fine and or a prison sentence.
The Devon council has the power to vacate you if permission for planning is not held by the owner for a camp on their land in Paignton, or if your camp is causing a health problem to the public.
If nothing works in favour of the owner of the land, they might call the police for eviction in Marldon, Torquay, or Brixham.
The landowner in Paignton can evict you even without a court order.
Although, if you sustain any injuries or there is any damage to your land or vehicles during the eviction process, you have the rights to report you to the police in Paignton where they may be charged.
In this case, you are required to gather enough evidence to reinforce your claims, for instance, by taking pictures or recording the scene in Devon on your device.
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