Anticipation of trespass?
Published January 2010
The outcome may appear most sensible but it was for the Supreme Court to recently decide that an order for possession cannot be granted in respect of land yet to be occupied by a trespasser, reversing the Court of Appeal’s earlier decision. The thoughts being that such an order would require the “trespasser” to deliver up land he did not occupy to an owner who had not lost possession. (Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs v Meier).
However, as a note to landowners, it is possible to apply to the Court for an injunction restraining a person from a threatened trespass but the Court must be satisfied by convincing evidence that there is a real danger of trespass as opposed to mere belief.
