What to do when squatters occupy housing?

Verified 20 August 2026 - Public Service / (Prime Minister)

Squatting a dwelling place is the act of entering a home by burglary, deception, threat or violence, to occupy it without permission of the owner. It can also be a matter of reserving a furnished accommodation and to stay there despite the end of the rental. It is forbidden to force squatters to leave the premises by yourself: you must take steps to obtain their expulsion or forced evacuation. We explain how to do it.

Warning  

The tenant who stays in the housing after the end of the lease and without the agreement of the owner, the person who refuses to leave the dwelling after being accommodated by the person living there, the sub-tenant who remains in the dwelling after the end of the sub-lease contract not authorized by the owner are not not considered squatters.

We present the 2 scenarios: break and enter (or threat or constraint) and stay in a tourist furnished apartment.

Break-in, threat or coercion

Squatting a principal residence or a furnished secondary residence is punishable by:

  • For entering the dwelling, 3 years imprisonment and €45,000 of fine
  • And, for occupying this dwelling, 3 years imprisonment and €45,000 of fine.

Degrading housing is punishable by 2 years' imprisonment and €30,000 of fine.

FYI  

In case of squat, the winter truce does not apply. The eviction or forced evacuation of the squatter can take place at any time of the year.

To obtain the eviction or forced evacuation of the squatter, 2 types of procedure are possible: the accelerated procedure or, otherwise, the procedure before the judge.

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Accelerated procedure

The person whose home is squatted (tenant or owner-occupier) or a person acting on his behalf or the owner of the squatted dwelling may apply forced evacuation squatters.

For this, the applicant must first :

  • File a complaint for trespassing at the police station or gendarmerie
  • Prove that housing is his home or its property, for example by means of invoices, tax documents, a certificate provided by a neighbor
  • Make it known by a judicial police officer or by the mayor or by a commissioner of justice (formerly judicial officer), accommodation is squatted (introduction by maneuvers, threats, assault or coercion, and retention in the premises).

Before starting the procedure:

FYI  

If the owner cannot prove his right to property because he no longer has access to his dwelling, the prefect of department, within 72 hours, asks the tax administration to tell him to whom the squatted dwelling belongs.

Who shall I contact

Then, the applicant shall address the prefect of department so that formal notice squatters to leave the accommodation. The applicant may instruct a lawyer to draft the application to the prefect of the department.

The prefect of the department makes his decision taking into account the personal and family situation of the squatter. It must make its decision within 48 hours of receiving the request.

FYI  

In case of refusal, the prefect of department must indicate the reason for this refusal.

The formal notice indicates the period within which squatters are obliged to leave the dwelling. In the case of a squatted home, the delay is at least 24 hours, but in other cases, the delay is at least 7 days.

The formal notice is:

  • notified squatters,
  • displayed in the town hall and on the building concerned,
  • notified to the applicant (optional).

If the squatters do not vacate the premises within the prescribed period, the prefect of the department must evacuate the accommodation without delay by the police, unless the applicant has objected.

Reminder

In the case of squatters, winter truce does not apply. Their forced evacuation can take place throughout the year.

Before the judge

The owner can request the eviction of squatters.

For this, he must first :

  • File a complaint for trespassing at the police station or gendarmerie
  • Take a lawyer who will refer the matter to the judge (i.e. ask the judge to authorize the expulsion of the squatters and order them to pay compensation for occupancy of the premises)
  • Prove than housing belongs to him (title deed, tax documents, invoices...).)
  • Prove that housing is squatted (introduction by maneuvers, threats, assault or coercion, and retention in the premises). For this, it is recommended to load a commissioner of justice to go to the site to draw up a report and identify, if possible, at least 1 of the squatters (by questioning them, by putting their name on the mailbox...).)

The lawyer must seize for interim measures the protection litigation judge on which the squatted housing depends.

FYI  

If no squatter is known (very rare situation), the lawyer can refer the case to the judge by query.

The owner must then instruct a commissioner of justice to send the squatters a summons to the hearing (assignment).

Please note

At the hearing, the landlord has the right to obtain the eviction of squatters, without entering into a discussion about the right to respect for their private and family life, or their right to occupy decent housing.

The owner must appoint a commissioner of justice to signify to the squatters the judgment rendered.

If the squatters do not leave the dwelling within one month of service, the owner must instruct a commissioner of justice to deliver to the squatters a command to leave the premises.

As soon as the Commissioner of Justice has issued the command to leave the premises, squatters must leave the accommodation, they can not benefit from any delay.

In the event that the squatters remain in the dwelling, the commissioner of justice must ask the prefect of the department for the assistance of the public force to evict them from the dwelling.

Reminder

In the case of squatters, winter truce does not apply. Their deportation can take place throughout the year.

Maintenance in the tourist furnished

To obtain the eviction or forced evacuation of the squatter, 2 types of procedure are possible: the accelerated procedure or, otherwise, the procedure before the judge.

Accelerated procedure

The person whose home is squatted (tenant or owner-occupier) or a person acting on his behalf or the owner of the squatted dwelling may apply forced evacuation squatters.

For this, the applicant must first :

  • File a complaint for trespassing at the police station or gendarmerie
  • Prove that housing is his home or its property, for example by means of invoices, tax documents, a certificate provided by a neighbor
  • Prove that the accommodation has been rented as furnished accommodation (registration number of the furnished accommodation, rental agreement...))
  • Make it known by a judicial police officer or by the mayor or by a commissioner of justice (formerly judicial officer), accommodation is squatted (keeping in the premises at the end of the rental contract).

Before starting the procedure:

FYI  

If the owner cannot prove his right to property because he no longer has access to his dwelling, the prefect of department, within 72 hours, asks the tax administration to tell him to whom the squatted dwelling belongs.

Who shall I contact

Then, the applicant shall address the prefect of department so that formal notice squatters to leave the accommodation. The applicant may instruct a lawyer to draft the application to the prefect of the department.

The prefect of the department makes his decision taking into account the personal and family situation of the squatter. It must make its decision within 48 hours of receiving the request.

FYI  

In case of refusal, the prefect of department must indicate the reason for this refusal.

The formal notice indicates the period within which squatters are obliged to leave the dwelling. In the case of a squatted home, the delay is at least 24 hours, but in other cases, the delay is at least 7 days.

The formal notice is:

  • notified squatters,
  • displayed in the town hall and on the building concerned,
  • notified to the applicant (optional).

If the squatters do not vacate the premises within the prescribed period, the prefect of the department must evacuate the dwelling without delay by the police, unless the applicant has objected.

Reminder

In the case of squatters, winter truce does not apply. Their forced evacuation can take place throughout the year.

Before the judge

The owner can request the expulsion of squatters.

For this, he must first :

  • File a complaint for trespassing at the police station or gendarmerie
  • Take a lawyer who will refer the matter to the judge (i.e. ask the judge to authorize the expulsion of the squatters and order them to pay compensation for occupancy of the premises)
  • Prove than housing belongs to him (title deed, tax documents, invoices...))
  • Prove that the accommodation has been rented as furnished accommodation (registration number of the furnished accommodation, rental agreement...))
  • Prove that housing is squatted (keeping in the premises at the end of the rental contract). For this, it is recommended to load a commissioner of justice to go to the site to draw up a report

The lawyer must seize for interim measures the protection litigation judge on which the squatted housing depends.

The owner must then instruct a commissioner of justice to send the squatters a summons to the hearing (assignment).

Please note

At the hearing, the landlord has the right to obtain the eviction of squatters, without entering into a discussion about the right to respect for their private and family life, or their right to occupy decent housing.

The owner must appoint a commissioner of justice to signify to the squatters the judgment rendered.

If the squatters do not leave the dwelling within one month of service, the owner must instruct a commissioner of justice to deliver to the squatters a command to leave the premises.

As soon as the Commissioner of Justice has issued the command to leave the premises, squatters must leave the accommodation, they can not benefit from any delay.

In the event that the squatters remain in the dwelling, the commissioner of justice must ask the prefect of the department for the assistance of the public force to evict them from the dwelling.

Reminder

In the case of squatters, winter truce does not apply. Their deportation can take place throughout the year.

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