What is squatting?
Squatting means the unlawful occupation of an uninhabited building or unused land. In simple language, for homeowners, a squatter is someone who occupies your property without your permission. Specifically, this situation can typically also include former tenants who still live on the property without paying rent after their lease has expired or been terminated.
Unlawful occupants can negatively impact your rental property and make it challenging to lease to new tenants. To effectively prevent squatters, it is essential to secure your property. If you do not maintain residence near your rental home, make an effort to hire a property management company to monitor the property regularly and handle tenant turnover.
What to do at the first sign of a squatter?
If you notice a squatter on your property, you should immediately contact the police. The longer you enable a squatter to exist, the harder it will be to evict them later. Courts may interpret your failure to act as a sign of consent, making the eviction process more stressful.
Another potential issue eventuates if a squatter manages to turn on utilities at the property in their name. In multiple areas, doing so can establish legal residency, even supposing the squatter occupies your property without your permission. If this crops up, the police may actually classify the situation as civil rather than criminal.
If the police cannot assist you, the next step is to serve the unlawful occupant with an eviction notice. Just simply providing this notice can commonly encourage the squatter to move out voluntarily. But, if they refuse to leave, you may need to file an unlawful detainer lawsuit, which will instigate formal eviction proceedings.
The duration of this process can vary depending on the performance and capability of the court system in your state, taking anywhere from two weeks to several months. Supposing you receive a judgment in your favor from the court, you can then properly enlist the local sheriff or police to remove the squatter on your behalf.
What to do with a squatter’s leftover property?
When you have successfully evicted your squatters, you’ll need to handle any personal property they may have left behind. Whether they left without constraint or were removed against their will, it’s unsurprising for them to abandon some belongings.
The following steps lean heavily on the laws in your area. In several states, you may dispose of these items without consequence. Yet, in other places, you would most definitely be required to store their belongings in a storage unit at your own expense. If the squatters do not claim their property and repay you for the storage fees, you may have the right to auction off the items or dispose of them as stated in local regulations.
Handling squatters can be wasteful and resource-intensive. To avoid this, proactive management is the essential key. At Real Property Management Innovation, we effectively manage tenant move-outs and quickly fill vacancies. An occupied rental property is both greatly profitable and free from squatters. For more valuable details concerning our property management services in Rosedale, please contact us online or call 516-570-9275.
Originally Published on November 16, 2018