by Bridget Webber

Created on: July 25, 2011   Last Updated: July 29, 2011

There have been some major changes to English law recently with regards to the right to defend property. Over the last decade, there was a great deal of controversy about several cases of homeowners who attempted to protect their homes, but were met with negativity and left feeling like perpetrators of a crime rather than victims. Now the tables have turned and people will have more rights when it comes to fending off criminals who enter their property.

Reasonable force

Homeowners now have the right to use reasonable force if someone enters their abode. Previously victims were left scratching their heads when they discovered an intruder on their property, because they were puzzled about what to do. Short of saying ‘please get out,’ and threatening to call the police, there was nothing much else they could do as they watched a burglar make off with their television set and jewelry. Now, at least they can feel a little more confident about actively removing someone who illegally enters their home with ill intent.

The next hurdle, will of course, be identifying what reasonable force actually is, because no definition seems to have been made. Force can only be used if it’s perceived that there is a threat to property. Whether this means that if a burglar enters someone’s home, as long as they say they meant no harm and were about to leave, they can’t be stopped by the owner isn’t clear. However, the change in law is likely to be seen as a healthy improvement on previous circumstances and may put some potential intruders off bothering to consider burglary as a full time career. In the past, homeowners were only allowed to assert themselves in such situations if their life was threatened; now their property is being recognized as valuable too.

Squatter’s rights

Previously, it seemed as though everyone knew someone, or of someone who was a squatter. It wasn’t only homeless people, as you might imagine, who entered empty buildings and made a bed, it was drug dealers, people who didn’t want to work and youngsters who just thought it was rebellious and fashionable to do so.

These days squatting is a criminal offence, leaving far less leeway for potential squatters to assert so their called ‘rights’ and live in properties that don’t belong to them.

English law regarding the right to defend property may still not be cut and dried when it comes to clarity, but at least it now favors victims rather than criminals.

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