As of 20 April 2020, PD51Z, the Practice Direction which stays possession proceedings brought under Part 55 has been amended.
The stay no longer applies to possession proceedings against trespassers, nor to any application for an interim possession order under Section III of Part 55. Therefore, proceedings against squatters can now be issued and should progress in the usual way.The Civil Court Listing Priorities document has also been updated on 20 April 2020 although, as yet, trespassers proceedings have not been included in either the Priority 1 (work that must be done) or Priority 2 (work that could be done) list. This may need to be amended to ensure that trespassers' cases are properly processed by Court staff.
