Is Urban Exploration Legal? Legal Considerations of Urbex in the UK

In the UK Urban Exploration is not illegal in most circumstances. Specific laws apply to certain locations, such as railways and military sites. However, in general exploring an abandoned location in the UK is not illegal. Trespass is not a criminal offence, but rather a civil matter between you and the landowner. You cannot be arrested for trespass, however police may attend if there’s a chance that you’ve broken a law, some of which are outlined below. The landowner could technically sue you for trespass in a civil court, however this is highly unlikely. Court proceedings are slow and expensive, and mostly only used to remove people settling on a site- plus the owner would have to know exactly who you are even to get started. If it somehow did get this far- what compensation could the landowner realistically claim?

It’s always a good idea to look up specific byelaws and regulations for specific locations you may be planning on visiting. For example, if an area used to be part of a military base- check that the land is no longer owned by the military before considering exploring it!

Obviously, different counties have different laws, different levels of safety and differing styles of policing! The information here is for UK-based Urban exploring only, and is written as a guide rather than legal advice.

Have UK Laws Recently Changed to Make Urban Exploring Illegal?

The introduction of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (‘PCSAC’) makes trespass, in some circumstances, a criminal offence (rather than civil) punishable by imprisonment of up to four months and/or a fine of up to £2500. This law makes it an offence if you

• resides or intends to reside on land in or with a vehicle (including a caravan) without consent; and
• fails to leave and/or remove their property (or re-enters the land) as soon as reasonably practicable when asked to do so; and
• has caused, or is likely to cause ‘significant’:
  • damage to land/property/the environment;
  • disruption to the use of land/supply of utilities; and/or
  • distress via ‘offensive conduct’, such as the use of threatening words or behaviour.

So, while the law has been updated somewhat, it’s still (in most cases) possible to Urban Explore in the UK whilst staying within the law. Leave if and when you are asked to, don’t cause damage or disruption and be polite to any security or land owner that asks you to leave.

When is Urban Exploration Illegal?

Criminal damage, breaking and entering and theft are all self-explanatory and obviously against the law, so Urban Explorers should only explore accessible locations and never damage or take anything. If you are caught with tools that could help you gain access to a property (screwdriver, crowbar etc), then the police could consider you as “going equipped,” which is also against the law.

Criminal Trespass applies to certain locations, including certain Ministry of Defence sites, nuclear power stations, royal palaces and railways. Stay away from these sites- trespassing here is illegal.

Burglary differs from theft. “An individual will be guilty of burglary if they enter any building or part of a building as a trespasser with intent to steal, inflict grievous bodily harm or do unlawful damage to the building or anything in it.” The key word here is intent, you don’t actually have to steal, inflict GBH or do unlawful damage. If the police suspect you intended to do any of these things, you could be arrested. This is unlikely to cause any problems if you innocently enter an abandoned building to take photos, and don’t have any objects on you that could arouse suspicion. Entering a building with high value items inside could raise suspicions though.

Site-specific Tresspass Injuctions are becoming increasingly popular. They are usually applied to large-scale abandoned sites such as power stations, or large construction sites. Essentially, they are a court order that will prohibit a party (individual or group) from tresspassing on the specific site. If the site has gained such an injuction, you will be breaking the law if you enter it, as breach of an injuction is a criminal offence.

You are more likely to run into trouble entering an abandoned building in the middle of a city centre than a remote derelict house deep in the countryside. Weigh up the risks and make sure you can legally enter the location (without having to force entry) before entering an abandoned building.

What happens if I get caught exploring an abandoned building?

With the above in mind, and from previous experiences, if security arrive they usually simply ask you to leave. There’s no reason to be rude or argue, it won’t do you any favours. It’s best to simply leave the building and move on.

When you enter an abandoned building you are taking the risk of breaking the law, or at least being accused of breaking the law. The only way to totally avoid this risk is to gain permission before entering. There are plenty of ticketed sites or non-abandoned unique locations that provide a great Urbex-experience which also negate the risk of any legal issues. This is a brief outline of a complex subject and should not be considered legal advice. The above only applies to the UK.

Has an Urban Explorer Ever Been Prosecuted in the UK?

Yes. In 2018, a man from Walsall, West Midlands, who was part of a group which climbed the 156m Humber Bridge structure, was ordered to pay £400 by Hull magistrates. This explore was obviously above-and-beyond your average abandoned house explore, and it seems the Humber Bridge Board wanted to set an example to ward off other would-be explorers. There are also examples of people being prosecuted under Covid laws during lockdown, though evidently these laws are no longer applicable.

There are a cluster of examples of Urban Explorers being procecuted in the UK- and all seem to be high-profile explores, verging into place-hacking, base jumping and rooftopping as opposed to your run-of-the-mill urban exploration.

How Do I Avoid Breaking The Law When Urban Exploring?

The standard Golden Rule of Urbex “Take nothing but pictures, and leave nothing but footprints” carries a lot of weight here. After checking no by-laws apply (such as military and railway sites, as detailed above), keep to the following rules to give yourself the best chance of staying within the law whilst Urban Exploring in the UK

• Don’t break in or force entry
• Don’t carry anything that could assist you in breaking in (tools, cutters etc)
• Don’t damage anything or take anything from the site
• If you are asked to leave- do so politely, without causing a fuss
• Avoid high-profile abandoned sites, or sites with valuables inside them
• Ensure the abandoned site you plan to visit doesn’t have a Tresspass Injunction or Byelaw that would make entering illigal

Updated in 2024, as Tresspass Injuctions and laws within the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 have become more prevalent.

Last Updated on 16 January 2025 by Michael