Luton Borough Council

Dealing with unauthorised encampments

Upon receiving a report of an encampment within Luton, we will conduct checks to establish ownership of the land camped on.

If the land is privately owned, then the responsibility is that of the land owner, who will be informed of the presence of the encampment where possible. We will give advice as to available options if requested by the land owner.

If an encampment occupies council owned land before we can remove them we must:

show that the unauthorised encampment is on the land without consent
make enquiries regarding the general health, welfare and children's education
ensure that the Human Rights Acts 1998 has been fully complied with
follow a set procedure in terms of proving ownership of land and details of the illegal encampment that will enable us to successfully obtain the necessary authority from the courts to order the those in the encampment to leave the site

We will make every attempt to visit the encampment within one working day to conduct an initial visit process and assessment.
Where possible, we will make every effort to negotiate a leaving date, as well as making agreements for dealing with domestic waste. Domestic waste sacks may be handed out to the occupants.