Owning property can be an incredibly worthwhile investment, but it’s not without its drawbacks. Unoccupied property can sometimes become an open invitation to travellers and squatters who illegally camp and even litter or vandalise structures. In certain cases, your property may even hide serious illegal activities if you don’t immediately get rid of these unwelcome visitors. Here’s how you can safely and swiftly handle this situation and protect your vacant property:
Hire traveller eviction services
The best way to resolve this matter is by hiring a well-established bailiff and security company to do traveller eviction for you. You could risk getting yourself in serious danger if you try to do this yourself. What these services will do is handle the eviction process in an efficient and conflict-free manner. They’ll serve a notice to the illegal occupants which will give them enough time to leave the property. After which they’ll inform local authorities and work hand-in-hand with them to handle the situation. The eviction happens the following morning from when the notice was given
Talk to your insurance provider
Depending on the state of your property, you have different types of coverage available to you. Before you leave your property vacant, you need to let your insurer know. Even if your vacant property has no structures on it, you may actually have insurance available for it. It’s important to discuss this with your insurance provider and see what your options are.
Secure your property
You wouldn’t have to evict illegal travellers if they can’t find a way to get into your property in the first place. Prevention is the key to keeping your property safe. Secure your property by affixing doors with reinforced locks, covering windows with plywood or shatter-resistant security film, setting up signs that tell people to keep out, and creating physical barriers in the form of fences, barbed wire, or concrete blocks. If your budget allows it, you can even hire property guardians or security guards or set up surveillance and alarm systems to further secure your property.
Perform regular maintenance
A cluttered and decrepit property is a tell-tale sign that your property is abandoned or vacant. This is the worst way to invite unwanted attention. You can avoid this by performing regular maintenance checks and routinely removing waste around the site. Not only will this make your property look more lively, but it will also keep your nearby neighbors happy. You don’t have to do this yourself if you’re too busy or if you live too far
Carry out frequent visits to the site
Paying regular visitors to monitor the state of your property is a practical and effective way to keep it safe and secure. If you don’t have the budget to hire 24/7 security in the form of security guards or property guardians, then you’ll have to make the trip yourself. You don’t have to visit every single day, but it’s important to keep the period between each visit as short as possible.
These handy tips will help you keep your unoccupied property safe and secure against travellers and squatters.