I run a small campsite. I have less than 15 pitches occupied. Unfortunately one camper has proved, rude, messy, so l politely asked him to leave sooner. I have personally tidied cans, glasses, fag butt's, food packages from his pitch, without complaining or making a huge fuss.
He's agreed to leave in his own time, but l need the pitch for new arrivals.
There is nothing in writing because he's a camper!
How do l get him off the property? Is he now trespassing as on site without any permission?
Any feedback welcome, thanks
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Has he paid for his complete stay? When you say a camper, do you mean a tent of a caravan? How did he booked the pitch, email or simply a phone call and everything verbal?
ok so he is long past his date to leave, right you can now phone the police to get him to go, ok they wont treat see to it all that quickly but even informing him that you have called the police should make him pack up and leave failing that waiting until they arrive should be enough, and yes he is now trespassing
oh and turn off his ehu! and anything else he has access to
Quote: Originally posted by MistyHaze on 22/5/2023
Hi and thanks for the replies. He paid up to 07 05. No further payment received. Had free pitch, EHU, showers, access to laundry since 07 05.
Is he trespassing now? Told me he would leave in his own time.
Hope this info helps. If he is trespassing lm thinking of getting the Police involved as he's clearly not bothered.
Is he in a tent or caravan as that could make a difference? It may be a civil issue and the police may not want to get involved.
However as he is not paying for the usage of the EHU, water etc he is in effect stealing from you and that angle may be worth investigating if the police do not initially want to get involved. You may need to escalate it to someone more senior in the local precinct.
To be honest I think you may need to consult a solicitor and find out if you can prevent him from using the EHU etc.
I recommend that you get some legal advice, sooner rather than later.
If you are a member of one of the trade bodies, they almost certainly will have legal helplines, otherwise your trade insurance may be able to advise.
A camper refusing to leave private land is generally treated as a civil offence, and may require a court order. There will be a process to follow before this can be done, including giving a deadline to leave in writing.
Your problems may be (a) that the presence of an obnoxious person may well deter other campers from returning, (b) that staying without payment may give others the same idea, and (c) depending how long the stay is, it might breach your planning or licensing permission.
Turning electricity and/or water off to force somebody out is, I believe, only illegal when it is somebody's home - so probably does not apply to a campsite.
(Maybe you need to make it part of the terms that the EHU will be turned off at the end of the paid-for period).
You say that there is "nothing in writing because he's a camper" which is puzzling. Presumably you agreed terms, including costs and length of stay, for this camper, which is effectively a contract - so why not put it in writing? You will now have the problem of proving that he has overstayed the agreed period.
I hope that you can reach a speedy and satisfactory conclusion to this situation - good luck.
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I’d get a mate to come and witness the conversation (so that he cannot claim violence etc) and tell him that if his property is not off your land within 24 hours you will be removing it and putting it out in to the road. And do it. (With suitable mate)
I have no experience of running a campsite but I have run a public venue and would not hesitate to do this. Being careful not to damage his stuff.
As you are a campsite owner you should be fully aware and compliant of the 28 day ruling. Once the 28 days has expired you have the right to apply for an injunction but this has to be done with legal support therefore I would contact the county council and ask for advice regarding what course of action you can take to get the camper evicted from the campsite. The Police may intervene and politely request the camper to leave but without an enforcement order it may prove difficult. You obviously operate under licence which would have been provided by the county council so they would be the first step in my view to ask for legal advice and support on this issue.
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Tried the Police, got transferred to environmental services rather swiftly, as the operator, did not quite listen. He has tidied his pitch! That point kinda irrelevant now, although the state of the pitch was important at the time. There were a list of occurrences that led to me asking him to leave the site.
Never had this situation before, not cut off his power because l don't wish to aggravate the situation any further or provide him with mud to sling at me.
I'm surprised that, homeless people don't claim a home, take up residence and get the owners to foot their bills for them. Clean and do the shopping...(Yes l'm using humour to make a point).
So....for me, it's a waiting game as l won't be getting courts involved. I did think the trespass situation could have been my pivot but no further info available to me.
Thanks anyway for listening. All things eventual. Have a good weekend!
I'm surprised that, homeless people don't claim a home, take up residence and get the owners to foot their bills for them. Clean and do the shopping...(Yes l'm using humour to make a point).
The only problem is this is based in fact, not humour, I am not the only one on here that has been bitten in the past. A VERY expensive lesson to learn.
I am sure you will have seen the adverts on TV for landlord insurance this is now a growth market.
Deal with the problem now, it will not improve, it's not worth the stress. Also the fact you are paying for the privilege of him making your life a misery, this will stay with you long after it's over.
Yes he will break you and you will bite the bullet and sort it.
Yes I still carry the anger, I am less understanding, altogether a not so easy going person. I wouldn't invite me out for a drink
The renters moved on and did the same to the next landlord
------------- Yesterday is already a dream and tomorrow is only a vision, but today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Unfortunately, too much of the law is angled in favour of the lawless, not their victims.
Camping without permission on private land is a trespass, not an offence, and there are far too many websites telling wpuld-be trespassers how to go about it - and very few telling the property owner how to get your property back (most of the seem to start off, "ask them how long they intend to stay...").
It sounds as if this camper has already settled in for the duration, not sure how turning off the EHU could aggravate the situation any more, or - indeed - provide "mud" to be slung at you. What mud?
The campsite is not his home, he (presumably) had an agreed period to camp, and has outstayed it.
Continue keeping quiet to keep the peace, and you may find that your campsite details get circulated as an excellent place for free camping with all facilities also provided FOC.
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Topic: Awkward Question to other site owners
via mobile 22/5/2023 at 1:42am
