This content applies to England only.

Housing laws vary between England and Scotland. Get advice relating to Scotland

If you are staying on a privately run Gypsy/Traveller site, your rights will depend on what kind of site it is, and whether it is a protected site, with planning permission.

This page looks at your rights if:

• you are parked on private land without permission from the owner, or
• the owner does not have planning permission for a Gypsy and Traveller site on their land.

It is important to understand the differences between protected and unprotected sites.

Who can evict you?

The council can apply for a court order to move you on if the owner doesn't have planning permission for a site on their land, or if you don’t have permission from the owner to be there.

Alternatively, a landowner can evict you without getting a court order, but they can only do this if they have asked you to leave and you have refused and then only by using no more force than is reasonably necessary. The police may notified of the eviction and attend at the appropriate time to prevent a breach of the peace.

If the landowner causes any damage to your vehicles or property, or if they injure you in any way, you can report the matter to the police and they may face charges for assault or criminal damage.

Alternatively, you could take civil action against them and seek compensation. In this situation, it's important to get as much evidence as possible to back up your case, for example, by taking photographs or filming the incident on your mobile.

Eviction from a protected site

People who live on a protected site have many more rights than residents who live on an unprotected site, including more protection against eviction. The pages on eviction from a protected site explain what you can do if the site owner tries to move you on illegally.

Eviction from an unprotected site

If you're staying on an unprotected site, that is, a site that doesn't have planning permission and a site licence, you won't have many rights, and the site owner will be able to evict you fairly easily. You should have some rights, including the right to at least four weeks' notice, although you may find this hard to enforce. See our page on eviction from unprotected sites for more information.

Talk to an adviser at a Shelter advice centre or Citizens Advice if you're in this situation. Use our directory to find one in your area.

Eviction from an authorised site on private land

If you park up on private land without consent, the owner or legal occupier (such as a tenant) can take steps to evict you.

Bear in mind that the owner may not even be aware that you're there unless they receive complaints about your encampment. It may be worth contacting the landowner and discussing the situation with them - if your camp is not causing any problems and they don't need the land for anything else, they may be happy for you to stay.

If the landowner or occupier does decide to evict you, they may:

• apply to the court for an injunction or possession order requiring you to move off the land
• ask the council to take action
• ask the police to take action
• move you on (evict you ) themselves.

Eviction because of a possession order

If you're camped on private land without the owner's permission, the landowner or occupier can apply to the court for an eviction order to remove you from their land. If this is the case, you'll be sent documents from the court telling you when your case will be heard in court.

If you receive a letter from the court, get advice from a solicitor or a law centre right away. Your local Citizens Advice may be able to put you in touch with a solicitor who can help you. Because you are trespassing on the owner's land, you won't have any defence when the case comes to court, but a solicitor may be able to help you delay the eviction on humanitarian grounds, for example, if you can't move on because someone in your household is ill.

If an eviction order is granted, you will be sent a copy of the court order. You will have to move on by the date ordered by the Court.

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