Teens are trespassing on our land - what can we do?

Dear Reader,

I am sorry to hear this. This is a difficult issue and is often an issue that most farmers face at one point or another.

It is always wise to take measures to prevent people from being on your land without your consent, even if it does not necessarily bother you. A great deal of farmers may be unaware that people who trespass on their lands have a certain amount of rights, and you, as a landowner, owe them a duty of care.

In Ireland, a trespasser is recognised as a person who does not have authority or permission to be on your land. The duty of care that a landowner owes to a trespasser is two-fold. Firstly, the landowner is not to intentionally injure or harm the person, and secondly, the landowner is not to act with reckless disregard for the trespasser.

The occupier of the land must not set out to intentionally harm any trespassers. The duty of care, however, is a bit more complicated. The phrase “reckless disregard” must first be understood. This means that you must take all care and measures to allow for the safety of any persons entering the land and to protect and prevent them from coming into contact with any obvious or hidden dangers that might have the potential to harm any persons entering the land. 

In effect, you must have regard for any dangers that exist on your land and take every effort to protect any potential trespassers from these dangers.

If an incident were to occur with a trespasser being injured on your land and the case is brought before the court, then a few factors would be examined.

The court would consider the circumstance of the individual case. They would look at whether there was a reasonable expectation for the landowner to know the trespasser might be on the lands. They will then consider the danger itself and whether it was reasonable to expect the landowner to protect the trespasser from it. A few other factors would also be evaluated, such as the care the trespasser took for their own safety.

A way to prevent trespassers on your land that the courts will assess is if you have any visible signs or warnings up. If there are any dangers on your land, the signs should say something to the effect of “WARNING” or “DANGER AHEAD DO NOT CROSS”.

If you have signs up simply saying that the trespassers will be prosecuted, then this does not constitute a warning to the trespasser in terms of their safety. These signs may be very effective, however, in keeping trespassers off your land.

In general, it is wise to have signs up warning trespassers away and letting them know about any potential dangers in the area. While having a sign up may not necessarily help you in a court case, it may not do you any harm either. 

Without having to resort to prosecuting trespassers as a landowner, you can still take steps to protect yourself from any liability that may occur.