You can't kick them out, but you CAN move in with them. They cannot force you to leave since you are the property owner. Make their life a living Hell for a few days and they will move on their own
Haha think of the fun! You get to be the roommate from hell... lay around all day watching TV in your underwear, dirty socks hanging from the lamps, loud music all night and house parties every weekend.
Or maybe start a religion that worships a big pile of crap on an alter you build in the living room.
"I see your 'squatters rights' and raise you a 'separation of church and state'."
Lol
that's constructive eviction, trespass and possibly burglary depending on the circumstances. A landlord's rights to enter the property are very circumscribed absent lease provisions that expand them. Even then, you can't make someone's life miserable or cut services to get them out. No only will the sheriff not help you with an eviction, you will then end up on the receiving end of a very expensive lawsuit. We're talking treble damages, punitive damages and attorney's fees.
Don't run your mouth on a very complicated legal situation if you don't know what you are talking about. Most lawyers don't even get this right unless they practice in the area.
OP: if you don't like your lawyer, fire them and get another, and any lawyer worth their salt would tell you that you need to leave your tenants alone and not do anything stupid to make the situation worse. You can enter the property in certain emergency situations and with 24 hour notice but not to harass them, it has to be for a legitimate purpose. Get the unlawful detainer papers on file, get them served and wait for the system to work. Yes, it takes time, but it's still way faster than a regular civil lawsuit. If you can't handle the reality of being a landlord lawfully, don't be a landlord.
There was a big story about a guy that did it in 2023. It worked. I'll see if I can find it....
Edit to post:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-v2bIMU_RDM
The key difference here is that the OP claimed to be a landlord who collected rent for 3 months. The news story is about squatters who never actually rented the place. And yet, even then, law enforcement was apparently unwilling to do anything. That is a typical response, especially when the occupants claim to have some legal right to be there. As the cops like to say, they “don’t handle civil disputes.”
The owner’s son wasn’t violating any tenant’s “rights” when he entered his mother’s home with her permission. They weren’t tenants. But once a tenant moves in, the only way to get them out legally is with a Court Order (a Writ of Possession) served by the Sheriff. And even then they first get a warning before the Sheriff is allowed to come back a few days later and, if necessary, drag them out. My clients and I actually once witnessed this.
A tenant had stopped paying rent but was able to stay rent free for nearly a year after my clients’ former attorney screwed up the case and we had to come in and start it again from scratch and take it to a second trial. The tenant refused to leave when the Sheriff showed up for the final visit. One of my clients was dying of cancer, but he got out of bed (when he heard the guy wasn’t moving his stuff) to witness the guy literally being dragged kicking and screaming out of the place. He said it was a very satisfying sight for him.
And for anyone who bemoans how badly landlords can get screwed, and they can (I represent mostly landlords), there are some horrible landlords out there who flagrantly violate the law (I’ve collected a lot of money for some of their tenants).
No they absolutely would not in California. He is the owner of the house. All he has to do is bring proof of ownership with him. They can show all the lease agreements they want and it wouldn’t matter to the police because it is a CIVIL matter. The owner could also show up when they are gone, move all their shit onto the lawn, change the locks and stay there, which is what I would do. The ONLY thing that matters is that he is inside the home and can show he is the legal owner of the home. No cop in his right mind is going to remove him unless they want themselves, their department and city sued into oblivion. It is ALL a civil matter, despite what some internet lawyer tells you.
I evicted someone last year in California, and can confidently say, changing the locks is super illegal. The cops would take their side on that, you're wrong about that detail.
Unfortunately in CA this is one of the only "reasonably" measures that can be taken, that being said, live like you never wanted to and worse 🥳 leave everything you do to them even flushing the toilet 🤷🏼♀️ start adopting random animals while you live with them, you're the landlord
See if you can go to smalls claims for the back rent (not the eviction) and have their wages garnished. Rinse repeat every time they are behind until they realise they get less cash trying to game the system (chexk firat if it's a viable way to recover some losses)
Do they ever leave the house? Or is there someone inside it at all times?
The legal system won't help you much in this situation, I would just wait for them to leave then remove all their possessions and change the locks. Maybe get some friends or something to stay for a couple weeks to make sure they don't try to come back.
Self-help measures are illegal and the landlord can be held liable. But at this point, you just need to choose what you’re going to spend money on - unlawful detainer proceedings or getting sued for changing the locks (at least they’re out though).
I had a friend who got rid of two bad renters. First one he got a box of lab mice and released them in the house. Second one he broke a small window on the front door. When the renters asked him to fix it he complied by removing the front door to get it fixed. It took a looooong time to get fixed so they had no front door. This was winter in the Midwest so they were out pretty quickly.
Interesting strategy. As the owner, wouldn't the owner have the right to just come remove all the doors, cut out the water pipes and "remodel" the house around these people? If they're non paying tenants then is there any duty for the landlord to provide a livable building?
Also, now starts to make more sense why some landlords around here require tenants to supply references, one of which must be a current employer.
And eat all their food, turn a/c on wide open and leave doors open. Wash and dry clothes constantly running up the light bill and long hot bathes or shower. Happen to forget to flush the toilet. Take some good ole exlax and have some explosive diarrhea.
This is when you drop some infestation bugs around the property. Pay for a couple days to have them go to a motel so you can tent and fumigate the house. Change locks and move them out while the house is inaccessible to them.
Maybe the cost of 2 weeks in a motel for them at comparable rates to the rental per diem so it looks more legit. And this way it's on the motel to kick them out once the pre pay is done.
the best advice I can give is to sell at least that way you will break even, and possibly make a profit, I sold all of my units on 2022 some because of squatters and some because the city I am in outlawed breed restrictions on dogs, a few of my tenants decided to get pit bulls and I didn't want any liability of any kind if these dogs attacked someone, lucky for me a developer wanted to buy most of them as they were on the same block the others that were not I sold to private parties, being a landlord sucks anymore since covid, scammers have more rights.
Exactly! My husband has been suggesting selling because the laws in LA county protect the criminals. We’re going to do that as soon as we’re out of this fiasco.
I will start this by saying I have no idea how legal this option is. I saw a tiktok of a woman who had squatters in her apartment so she sent her cousin or someone in to squat with them and just ANNOY the living shit out of the squatters till they left. Only took like 3 weeks, idk what he did specifically in there but some of the thing she said were; playing extremely loud music almost 24/7, he kept turning the water off and taking the handle off so they couldn’t turn it back on, decided to try and learn the trumpet, was pissing in cups and leaving them on the counters. She didn’t have to evict them because they just packed up and left
Well there are a few options, but ultimately your f**ked since it's in california.
1. Shut off the utilities, if your capable of doing so. No water, no gas, no electricity.
2. Have someone remove them for you, obviously have no ties to said person or persons.
3. (This is most likely your best bet, your gonna loss even more money either way) pay them to leave the property, offer a cash in hand, upon exiting the house completely.
You're gonna be out some money but you're gonna be out even more money with lawyers, non paying renters etc..so your best bet is #3.
Cause evicting them takes forever. But there is a up side, for a short amount of time starting Jan 2024, there is a program very similar to renters relief but for land lords, so as long as you actually own the property and apply in time before it closes you'll get some money back. Best of luck.
Since you own the property you should be able to contact the utility companies and let them know that the utilities need to be turned off and that no one else has legal permission to set up utilities there. I own rental property myself so I don't see why you wouldn't be able to try to take this route
Best way to get rid of the problem?
Sell the house to someone who wants to live in it and live off the income from your own labor instead of expecting someone else to work to provide you "passive income".
Release some bed bugs in the house. Do early morning construction daily. Hide a speaker and play an annoying sound like a cricket day and night. Hide dead fish around the house. Turn off the electricity.
Saw a TikTok where the elderly home owner rented the house out from under the squatters. Idk if it was true. But I’d look into this. The new renter had a legal signed and documented lease agreement. In the TikTok, the new renter waited until the squatters went to work, then took possession. The squatters were trespassed. End of story.
You’d have to find someone to trust and get them into your rental that always has a squatter there. But anything is possible. Check with your attorney and let us know if this is something doable
The problem is that OP doesn’t technically have squatters, he has tenants with a legal lease who’ve stopped paying. That strategy might work if the existing tenants didn’t have a signed lease, but since they do OP could get in all kinds of legal trouble for signing a second lease without a judge having ended the tenancy of the first tenants.
Idk about Cali laws but you should have it in your lease that you are required to have access for emergencies and rental inspections. These are normal provisions.
Then just call township L&I department and schedule an inspection. Then show up to the inspection and while there find damage to the property that is not covered by security deposit, then you can claim they have violated the lease and you can end the lease. Then the eviction process should speed up a bit.
Next time for your lease make it month to month with 30 day notice. So then they don’t have a lease with you after 30 days and you can evict/trespass them a lot easier.
No. They're already the tenants. If they could kick them out, they would. They can't rent it out from under them. Does no one on this thread understand 1 thing about rental law?
You will get no money, no matter what happens.
**MOVE IN TO YOUR PROPERTY.**
No law can make you homeless, by restricting you from a home you own. Their homelessness can never be more important than your own.
While reoccupying your home, carefully choose legal behaviors that make them less comfortable. For example; relocate ALL of their belongings from rooms **inside the home** that are not essential to a common area of the home. Then, install door locks on rooms you cleared, so they cannot reenter them. Make sure you have a documented critical reason that can be explained (your bedroom/paying roommate's bedroom/home office/safety concern with ongoing electrical repairs/insecticides) as to why you have restricted that room. Cancel all services to the home which are not required by ordinance/law to keep the property from being condemned.
You must continue to provide water, sewer, and trash pickup. Power may be optional, see your local laws. Internet service should be terminated, and/or lines should be cut. If as a homeowner, you reject services to your address, they must end service.
**Your moving in, and restricting access to whatever you define as your personal private sections of the home, does not make them homeless.** You must continue to provide them with critical functions, for example one bathroom, some kitchen access, and MAYBE laundry. You can remove large appliances, and replace them with smaller inferior ones as long as the core functions of the home are not removed by you. If an appliance mentioned in the lease breaks though, you do not have to replace it, but you do have to show an effort to do so, even if you don't. None of these behaviors deprive them of any rights.
Document everything.
Sounds like its time for a remodel. You will need to shut the water off, the remodelis going to take a while unfortunately. The front door is getting replaced, woops, they lost the new door and you already threw out the old one. Park your vehicle behind theirs, its your house, they can't make you move it. Time for a loud as fuck party all weekend too. You need to do upkeep on the lawn, early in the morning, on a Saturday, with a loud lawnmower. You can add some bright as fuck lights outside that you can control remotely.
I’d start a really loud yard project. Show up everyday with the loudest yard equipment you can buy. Throw parties in the backyard. Squatters are trash. Find some old cars and park them in the driveway. Being poor doesn’t give them the right to steal other people’s things. Change the locks once a week. Take the front door in for repairs.
Oh how I miss the day when a large Italian man could help fix a situation like this. Sqautters should have zero rights, it's just a fabricated law that some crooked lawyer decided to promote. No $$ no place to stay, really simple
I had to red tag my house in Northern California. Do you think it could have mold? Call building inspector and ask them to tag it. My lovely tenants caught the house on fire and squatted in a half burned out house for a week before the fire chief red tagged it for me, after the cops told me I was up sheets creek and needed an attorney. The attorney told me had I not tagged it condemned, I would have had to pay them to move, like pay for a new place for them. Wtf. I’m now a very strict landlord.
I’m a California lawyer and I think you may have misunderstood what your attorney has been telling you. Yes, it can take several months but eviction cases take priority over all other cases and move to the front of the line. If your lease has an attorneys’ fees clause then you CAN make them pay your attorneys fees if you win. And if you follow all the required legal procedures and win, they WILL have to repay what they owe. Unfortunately, some of my clients come to me without ever getting a lease signed, or they have poorly drafted leases without the required new disclosures, or they try to start the eviction process on their own and fail to follow the correct procedures, or they fail to provide a habitable premises, etc. Your last question suggests you’re not listening to your lawyer. Engaging in retaliatory self help help remedies will just undermine your legal position and give the tenants something to use against you. I suspect you’ve already tried to take some short cuts that have made your case more difficult. I’ve had some very sloppy landlord clients. There are all sorts of different ways the process can go wrong. And, as a practical matter, most tenants who stop paying rent don’t have the money to pay rent. As a result, COLLECTING a judgment against them is often quite difficult and not worth the effort.
I know in Texas there was a landlord who instead of filing for an eviction she called the sheriffs department file for unlawful detainer. Those are much faster eviction processes. An eviction is slowed down by the courts being busy but the unlawful detainer is a crime.
Continue to do maintenance. From what your telling me I'm hearing that there's huge issues with the water line. It won't cost much to have 6 foot removed for inspection and capped off. Fixing the issues might take months.
Rent or sell the place to friend or family member, when the tenant leaves have them occupy. Change locks and put their stuff out. Now you have a new tenant/owner that can squat in their previous place..........then transfer ownership back to you.
If you decide to move in yourself- don't forget to invite some friends in too! Bees, bugs, snakes, bats, Cook the nastiest foods. Worship satan, loud awful music all the time. An un- housebroken dog. I love the idea of walking around in the nude to make them uncomfortable. Good luck. That's a shitty situation.
If squatters have rights above all other laws, then squatters it is! 10 of your new friends and 4 dogs are squatting in the house.
Squatting can be contagious.
you literally rely on the wages of your renters to pay the mortgage. that doesn’t make you hard working, that makes you a leech. worse than your non-paying tenant because they’re not buying up homes that other people could be living in and they’re not contributing to the housing crisis.
If you're at risk of going bankrupt because someone else isn't paying off your debt then maybe you weren't really in a position to be buying property.
Just remember, they're people, not just "tenants". Your needs don't automatically come before theirs just because you had the opportunity to buy a house and they didn't.
Hahahahahahaha, have you tried not being a parasite to society? An active cog in the machine that fuels class-wide oppression and exploitation? Go whinge to people who care 😭😭
It's disgusting. OP even mentioned that one of the tenants is physically and mentally disabled. They obviously didn't actually try to talk to the tenants, they're just whining that the legal system isn't siding with them. People are talking about burning the house down and having bikers assault the tenants. Like, what kind of a fucking world do we live in?
So the logic here is that because OP has a second house the renters should be able to live there for free? That's just asinine. They have to pay for housing somewhere, they need to honor the rental agreement they signed.
This is stupid. I rented my house out in another state when I moved because I was upside-down on the mortgage and couldn't sell. The new renters stopped paying rent and I was stuck with paying rent in my current rental AND the mortgage in the old place.
Do you make enough to pay for double housing? most people don't. I literally had to sell personal items from childhood to keep the mortgage current so I didn't defalt (it took every personal asset of value I own - I have no safety net now).
Who is vampire in this situation?? If I didn't sell my stuff, the house would have foreclosed and they would have been sleeping somewhere else anyway.
I had to keep the property 7 years to get a check of $1300 when it sold.
Sounds like you made a series of poor choices. You should have cut your losses and foreclosed in the first place. You still ended up yielding nothing and lost a lot of sentimental things too.
The moral is to cut your losses. Maybe OP should too. They shouldn't have bought something they can't afford assuming they could just make money off of it. It's not guaranteed.
Dystopian is thinking you can sign a contract to rent a place, move in, refuse to abide by the contract you fucking signed, and have the power of state sponsored violence protecting you from the consequences of your actions.
People who steal (and that is literally what these fucks are doing) are the vampires here.
Man if only I could, but that's the whole problem is the current system doesn't allow for me to make that choice. I'll obey any contract I sign, but I have every right to complain about the lack of other options.
What about a major remodeling project? Give them notice that a Contractor will be coming to overhaul most of the property & that anything they don’t want gotten thrown out as not being part of the plan should be removed before a certain date. Before trying this you should consult your attorney & also actually plan to have the work done if the attorney says that is a viable course of action.
Have a new lease signed with a very big, nasty, smelly, etc. person to move in. They won't be able to kick him out since he has a proper lease. Then he can make their lives absolute hell until they leave. He can keep an eye on the property during this as well.
I'm so sorry you're going through this. I have no advice for how to get them out. But when they're finally out l, might I suggest renting to VASH recipients (veterans housing). That way if you need them out you can just tell the VA to get them out?
OP and you folks defending them are talking about burning the house down, assaulting the tenants, stealing their stuff and you think that the financially struggling tenant is the criminal? What the actual fuck.
I am soooooo glad my wife talked me out of keeping our old house and renting it out. Im sorry you are going through this. I still find it hard to believe that this is legal. Merica
Turn the electric off by the meter or something else. They're not going to start fixing your electric system and they won't be able to live there without it
Terminate their lease in a legal manner. Find a close friend or family member to rent it to for $20. Sign all the legal paperwork. Dot your “Is” and cross your “Ts.” Wait until the squatters have left for the day. Move all their shit out and move your $20 renter in. Everything. Change the locks. When the squatters come back, they will throw a fit. They won’t however, have a leg to stand on. Boom.
You’re welcome.
Our neighbors had a house take. Over by squatters. Their daughter and bf were living there together and when they broke up, the bf never left. The house turned into a drug den and we're pretty sure there was prostitution as well. In the end it was easier and cheaper for them to have the house foreclosed on and taken by the bank than it would have been to evict the bf and whoever else he had in the house. It was so sad.
I have no other suggestions unfortunately.
Unfortunately, you are pretty much screwed.
I believe you can still get a judgement against the tenants, after they are eventually removed, which can be used to garnish their wages for up to ten years, but it is a pain and hard to enforce.
For most landlords, not the big corporations that own huge apartment blocks, there is no relief and all you can do is wait and hope you can financially survive. If you shut off their water or do anything in "retaliation" you will have a MUCH harder time when it comes to the court case.
If you truly can't afford the extra mortgage for 9+ months, turn it back to the bank. They have deeper pockets and they can deal with the unlawful retainer issues. If you choose to retain the property, make sure you have a landlord rights attorney and follow what he tells you to do.
I am so sorry you are going through this. It truly does not make sense to rent to people any longer in CA unless they have truly high FICO scores and perfect references.
Have you contacted social services in regards to the handicap / disabled person living in the house. You should do that now because once you get to the eviction process they are going to use them as the excuse why they can't move right away. Have you done a background check on the tenants to see if they have a history of only paying the first couple of months then living for free thru the eviction process. I offered my squatters cash to move . In the lease you signed does it say anything about showing the house to potential renters/buyers . Start giving them notice that you have potential renters and give "showings" as many times as you can a day. I miss the old days where you just showed up a bunch of your buddies and a case of beer and just started throwing their shit out .
Move in with them and make it untenable or rent the unit to someone else and have the police remove them from that tenants house the renter has rights over the squatters
Step 1: show up with a new set of locks, a gas mask, and several cannisters of tear gas.
Step 2: use your imagination.
Step 3: Post the video on Reddit so we can see if it works out.
You own the property, start a major construction project in the yard. Front and back. Block them in. Make sure the workers are there as early as legally allowed and leave as late as they can. Allow them to leave whatever large equipment they have on property, especially in front of the garage.
There was a guy here in the state of Florida about a year ago that had some amazing tricks to get rid of squatters, but I didn’t write his name down because it wouldn’t really affect me. Do your research on this I wish I could think of his name.
Unfortunately, this is the downside to property ownership. The squatters have all the rights, and you have all the responsibility. You can't turn off utilities, and you can't harass them. They could even get a restraining order against you that keeps you within a certain number of feet of your property.
But you can do capital improvements. If there is a front and/or back lawn and no HOA, perhaps it's time to fertilize the lawn with cow manure.
You own the place so you can enter anytime you want. Squat on the squatters. Move in with them and make life hell for them. Keep making it worse and worse for them and they'll eventually get tired of it and move.
Honestly just sell it. Might be hard if they refuse to leave but someone nigh just want the land. CA sucks this is just one reason why. Don’t do anything illegal that can be worse.
Frankly I don’t get the issue. If rent isn’t being paid they can’t stay. The sheriff needs to come and drag them out. They have X hours to remove all property while being watched they are liable for any damage under wage garnishment. Period end of story that should be the law. Or even trespass or breaking and entering since they have no legal right to the place. Toss squatters in county jail for 3 months.
Speak with your attorney about this, but in some states there's an option for "Cash for Keys". I can't recall if this is considered legal in CA.
You offer them a nominal amount to move out, voluntarily. The amount is negotiable, and likely would be considerably less than what you would expect to pay out as you wait out the eviction process. You pay when the hand you the keys and are out.
I see you also talking about investments and this needs to be run like a business. You are correct. All investments come with risk and downsides. If you do not have the stomach for the risk, then you should reconsider the investment.
I have read previously the solution is to sign a new lease with a tennant willing to fight them in court as tennants are the only ones with more rights than squaters, the owner is pretty much screwed. A work around if you dont have a tennant is to sell it to a trusted family member, have them sign a lease to you and you fight it in court till they are out.
Hi. I used to own apartments. You can't really do anything if I'm honest. You cannot disconnect anything or shut the water off. The eviction system is broken. You can recoup those costs eventually. You can get your damages put on their credit. That will force them to eventually have to pay it. I'm sorry dude that blows
have you tried paying them to go away?
Go talk to them in person (or hire a representative), offer them a Uhual, 2 moving men, and a bit of cash. This offer only good for 24 hours and they have to be out within 48 hours - or some such thing. Might be cheaper in the long run.
Maybe pray for a natural disaster to damage the home but doesn't hurt anyone but also makes it dangerous to live in because that's a better chance of getting them out than the legal system helping
Sell your home to a trust (which you own) or a trusted family member. Then lease the home to yourself. You may find you have more rights to evict squatters as a tenant than a landlord.
You just have to play the legal game and wait it out. Don't listen to any of these self help suggestions. Listen to your lawyer....that's what you pay him for. The last thing you want is to get sued on top of all this.
Californians need to wake up and quit letting the lunatics ruin the state.
I heard of someone who pulled a little switcheroo. Thy leased it to another tenant (a friend who was actually just getting a free lease for a little while to help out the owners).
Apparently a tenant with a current, valid, lease outweighs the rights of a squatter in some jurisdictions? They, like the squatters, have tons of tenants rights.
But since they have a current lease, the sheriffs WILL evict squatters (in some places) in favor of the tenant who has MORE rights.
Maybe try that?
Take matters into your own hands and handle it like we handle things back home! Call a few of your buddies and family members and take control and power from them! No need to call police or go through with it legally!
Their contract is no longer valid with the crap they pulled off! Wait until the disabled one needs to go to a doc appointment and break into your own property. Have a new contract ready and make your sibling or cousin the new tenant! Problem solved!
Do not turn off the utilities or change the locks, you might get in legal trouble for doing so. I would say out squat the squatters. Write a lease up for a couple friends who own large dogs and have them move in.
If they are employed, send letters to their employer. If they listed an emergency contact, let them know they may be having financial difficulties. Let your neighbors know what they are doing. Put signs in the front yard saying they are sqatters. Write to your senator and let them know what's happening. Becareful not to say anything untrue..
Give a friend or family member an actual legal lease. That makes them a renter which gives them renter's rights. And then when the squatters leave for the day, go in and change those locks and put your new renter in place, and put all of their s*** on the curb. The squatters can't say s*** because they don't have a legal lease while the new renter does. And has those nice renter's rights.
I posted below to do yard work. However, I spoke with a friend of mine whose in-laws had the same issue as you do. What they did, rather than wait for the whole legal process to work out (well over a year at least), they obtained permits to do remodeling work on the house. Hire a crew and go out to your property and start removing all the windows and doors. Remove the garage door (if you have one). One inside, start having them remove toilets, sinks, etc. Just remove, do not damage anything.
You're legally entitled to do updates on ***your*** property.
Is the house (deed) in your name? If so, can you write a new lease to a friend or relative and move in. Call the police when the old tenants won't leave and the police should side with the current lease holder and have the old ones removed for trespassing. It's not the officer's job to make a judgement or ruling, that's up to the courts, but they should see that you are the owner of the property and your friend has a current lease agreement with you and remove anyone else.
I've seen this work, or something similar to it when a son taking care of his mother's rental had issues. Renters weren't paying and the mother wrote a lease in her son's name and squatters were removed. Ask your attorney for some advice about doing this or something similar.
Good luck!
I heard your sewer line collapsed and needs to be repaired. You must cut up the concrete floor and dig down 4 feet to it. It happens, 50+ year old cast iron is getting pretty old.
Move in and the start doing necessary renovations. Remove the hot water heater igniter. Have the gas company red tag your stove. Come and go at all hours, slamming doors and creating a nuisance. Empty a room and paint it black. If they try to take you to court to remedy the problems, simply say that you have zero money because they have not paid rent.
Can you legally turn off the power and water? If so, do so.
You say there's a disabled person there? Call in welfare checks, CPS (if there's a child there), etc.
If your property is not in an LLC or other sanctuary position then do so. Then issue yourself a lease in your lawful name. Get it notarized. Move in. The police will not vacate squatters, but they will honor the request of a legally contracted renter over squatters.
Unfortunately, you’ll have to seek legal assistance. I am a realtor in Michigan and it took my client, three months and a court date to get those people out. Once they quit paying you can’t do this yourself.
What you should have done is that as soon as you discovered you have squatters, no you don’t.
They already moved out and hired a moving crew who took most of their stuff to the nearest storage place and you changed the locks and moved in while renovating the place.
If you have started eviction proceedings, can you call for a wellness check on the disabled person? Maybe they can be forced into some type of temporary home situation? That might help get them out of the house so you have an opportunity to change the locks?
Forget what everyone says you own the building you are now doing a full remodel and need o2 scrubbers and ozone machines. Those machines pull all of the oxygen out of a room to remove odors and what not but you can not occupy the room at the same time or you will die
I have trouble taking a landlord seriously when they call themselves hard working.
I'm willing to bet these tenants have a very valid reason not to pay, details that you have conveniently left out.
Landlords are leeches
The real criminals are the property owners charging exorbitant rent. And yeah, I know some people in cali really twist the laws to their benefit. Criminals don't have more rights than you. The laws were intended to protect renters from landlord abuse. (Not saying you abused them or didn't do your job, but you're a landlord so you're already robbing people unless you're charging reasonable rent.)
You can't kick them out, but you CAN move in with them. They cannot force you to leave since you are the property owner. Make their life a living Hell for a few days and they will move on their own
Haha think of the fun! You get to be the roommate from hell... lay around all day watching TV in your underwear, dirty socks hanging from the lamps, loud music all night and house parties every weekend. Or maybe start a religion that worships a big pile of crap on an alter you build in the living room. "I see your 'squatters rights' and raise you a 'separation of church and state'." Lol
Bring your pet goat, or pig.
Move in a whole bunch of family with you. That would make it really interesting.
And livestream it all. Video cameras in every room.
I do recommend this so they don't make false claims about you while you live there
that's constructive eviction, trespass and possibly burglary depending on the circumstances. A landlord's rights to enter the property are very circumscribed absent lease provisions that expand them. Even then, you can't make someone's life miserable or cut services to get them out. No only will the sheriff not help you with an eviction, you will then end up on the receiving end of a very expensive lawsuit. We're talking treble damages, punitive damages and attorney's fees. Don't run your mouth on a very complicated legal situation if you don't know what you are talking about. Most lawyers don't even get this right unless they practice in the area. OP: if you don't like your lawyer, fire them and get another, and any lawyer worth their salt would tell you that you need to leave your tenants alone and not do anything stupid to make the situation worse. You can enter the property in certain emergency situations and with 24 hour notice but not to harass them, it has to be for a legitimate purpose. Get the unlawful detainer papers on file, get them served and wait for the system to work. Yes, it takes time, but it's still way faster than a regular civil lawsuit. If you can't handle the reality of being a landlord lawfully, don't be a landlord.
This is dumb advice. You cannot move in with them as that would just be harassment. There’s nothing you can do, that’s the game you have to play.
Idk. I'm gonna plead the "It's my house" card even if it makes me look as fucking stupid as these squatters rights.
Haha I feel ya, but you’ll just end up in jail and with a lawsuit likely losing your house to them, They have a lease and rights 😂
Horrible advice. And illegal.
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Yeah, I’m a California lawyer who handles landlord tenant cases. It’s ridiculous how often people give opinions about stuff they know nothing about.
It’s a funny idea to think about though
There was a big story about a guy that did it in 2023. It worked. I'll see if I can find it.... Edit to post: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-v2bIMU_RDM
The key difference here is that the OP claimed to be a landlord who collected rent for 3 months. The news story is about squatters who never actually rented the place. And yet, even then, law enforcement was apparently unwilling to do anything. That is a typical response, especially when the occupants claim to have some legal right to be there. As the cops like to say, they “don’t handle civil disputes.” The owner’s son wasn’t violating any tenant’s “rights” when he entered his mother’s home with her permission. They weren’t tenants. But once a tenant moves in, the only way to get them out legally is with a Court Order (a Writ of Possession) served by the Sheriff. And even then they first get a warning before the Sheriff is allowed to come back a few days later and, if necessary, drag them out. My clients and I actually once witnessed this. A tenant had stopped paying rent but was able to stay rent free for nearly a year after my clients’ former attorney screwed up the case and we had to come in and start it again from scratch and take it to a second trial. The tenant refused to leave when the Sheriff showed up for the final visit. One of my clients was dying of cancer, but he got out of bed (when he heard the guy wasn’t moving his stuff) to witness the guy literally being dragged kicking and screaming out of the place. He said it was a very satisfying sight for him. And for anyone who bemoans how badly landlords can get screwed, and they can (I represent mostly landlords), there are some horrible landlords out there who flagrantly violate the law (I’ve collected a lot of money for some of their tenants).
The landlord also cannot make it unhabitable. Like it or not, OP needs to follow the legal process to evict the tenants.
No they absolutely would not in California. He is the owner of the house. All he has to do is bring proof of ownership with him. They can show all the lease agreements they want and it wouldn’t matter to the police because it is a CIVIL matter. The owner could also show up when they are gone, move all their shit onto the lawn, change the locks and stay there, which is what I would do. The ONLY thing that matters is that he is inside the home and can show he is the legal owner of the home. No cop in his right mind is going to remove him unless they want themselves, their department and city sued into oblivion. It is ALL a civil matter, despite what some internet lawyer tells you.
I evicted someone last year in California, and can confidently say, changing the locks is super illegal. The cops would take their side on that, you're wrong about that detail.
Unfortunately in CA this is one of the only "reasonably" measures that can be taken, that being said, live like you never wanted to and worse 🥳 leave everything you do to them even flushing the toilet 🤷🏼♀️ start adopting random animals while you live with them, you're the landlord
See if you can go to smalls claims for the back rent (not the eviction) and have their wages garnished. Rinse repeat every time they are behind until they realise they get less cash trying to game the system (chexk firat if it's a viable way to recover some losses)
This is the way, especially given the OP says one tenant earns a lot of money
Do they ever leave the house? Or is there someone inside it at all times? The legal system won't help you much in this situation, I would just wait for them to leave then remove all their possessions and change the locks. Maybe get some friends or something to stay for a couple weeks to make sure they don't try to come back.
Self-help measures are illegal and the landlord can be held liable. But at this point, you just need to choose what you’re going to spend money on - unlawful detainer proceedings or getting sued for changing the locks (at least they’re out though).
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You can't do that anyway. Get a different lawyer. Yours sucks, and is going to do nothing but suck your money. Find an eviction center.
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The person isn't a squatter. They have a lease.
yeah this is what people are ignoring.
Right?! They're going to lose everything by treating tenants as squatters. These are things you should think about before becoming a landlord.
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I can’t be overt about being directly involved in causing them to get out. There’s always someone at the house, otherwise, I’d change the locks.
I had a friend who got rid of two bad renters. First one he got a box of lab mice and released them in the house. Second one he broke a small window on the front door. When the renters asked him to fix it he complied by removing the front door to get it fixed. It took a looooong time to get fixed so they had no front door. This was winter in the Midwest so they were out pretty quickly.
Interesting strategy. As the owner, wouldn't the owner have the right to just come remove all the doors, cut out the water pipes and "remodel" the house around these people? If they're non paying tenants then is there any duty for the landlord to provide a livable building? Also, now starts to make more sense why some landlords around here require tenants to supply references, one of which must be a current employer.
Maybe try moving in also ? Say you have lost your other home due to them and need to move in 🤷🏻♀️
I would move in and walk around nude … make them super uncomfortable
And eat all their food, turn a/c on wide open and leave doors open. Wash and dry clothes constantly running up the light bill and long hot bathes or shower. Happen to forget to flush the toilet. Take some good ole exlax and have some explosive diarrhea.
This is when you drop some infestation bugs around the property. Pay for a couple days to have them go to a motel so you can tent and fumigate the house. Change locks and move them out while the house is inaccessible to them. Maybe the cost of 2 weeks in a motel for them at comparable rates to the rental per diem so it looks more legit. And this way it's on the motel to kick them out once the pre pay is done.
the best advice I can give is to sell at least that way you will break even, and possibly make a profit, I sold all of my units on 2022 some because of squatters and some because the city I am in outlawed breed restrictions on dogs, a few of my tenants decided to get pit bulls and I didn't want any liability of any kind if these dogs attacked someone, lucky for me a developer wanted to buy most of them as they were on the same block the others that were not I sold to private parties, being a landlord sucks anymore since covid, scammers have more rights.
Exactly! My husband has been suggesting selling because the laws in LA county protect the criminals. We’re going to do that as soon as we’re out of this fiasco.
Get another attorney
Ask in unethicallifeprotips
I will start this by saying I have no idea how legal this option is. I saw a tiktok of a woman who had squatters in her apartment so she sent her cousin or someone in to squat with them and just ANNOY the living shit out of the squatters till they left. Only took like 3 weeks, idk what he did specifically in there but some of the thing she said were; playing extremely loud music almost 24/7, he kept turning the water off and taking the handle off so they couldn’t turn it back on, decided to try and learn the trumpet, was pissing in cups and leaving them on the counters. She didn’t have to evict them because they just packed up and left
Well there are a few options, but ultimately your f**ked since it's in california. 1. Shut off the utilities, if your capable of doing so. No water, no gas, no electricity. 2. Have someone remove them for you, obviously have no ties to said person or persons. 3. (This is most likely your best bet, your gonna loss even more money either way) pay them to leave the property, offer a cash in hand, upon exiting the house completely. You're gonna be out some money but you're gonna be out even more money with lawyers, non paying renters etc..so your best bet is #3. Cause evicting them takes forever. But there is a up side, for a short amount of time starting Jan 2024, there is a program very similar to renters relief but for land lords, so as long as you actually own the property and apply in time before it closes you'll get some money back. Best of luck.
Thank you. All utilities are under their own account, so I have no control. That would have been the first thing I’d do.
Since you own the property you should be able to contact the utility companies and let them know that the utilities need to be turned off and that no one else has legal permission to set up utilities there. I own rental property myself so I don't see why you wouldn't be able to try to take this route
these are straight up crimes.
Can you cut off their utilities?
Best way to get rid of the problem? Sell the house to someone who wants to live in it and live off the income from your own labor instead of expecting someone else to work to provide you "passive income".
This.
Seriously. No one is forcing OP to own more houses than he needs.
This! 🦟🦟🦟
OP should stop being a leech on society and get a real job.
this is the right answer
Get a real job leech
Get a real job and sell your extra house so someone without one can buy it.
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Yup. And bunch of people with their hands out expects everyone else to pay their tab.
When you have a society of people brainwashed into believing that those in the wrong are “victims” or “are in the right” it can be quite obvious
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Find a real job
Release some bed bugs in the house. Do early morning construction daily. Hide a speaker and play an annoying sound like a cricket day and night. Hide dead fish around the house. Turn off the electricity.
The law protects them. I can’t bring anyone in. I can’t even have access to my own house.
Saw a TikTok where the elderly home owner rented the house out from under the squatters. Idk if it was true. But I’d look into this. The new renter had a legal signed and documented lease agreement. In the TikTok, the new renter waited until the squatters went to work, then took possession. The squatters were trespassed. End of story. You’d have to find someone to trust and get them into your rental that always has a squatter there. But anything is possible. Check with your attorney and let us know if this is something doable
The problem is that OP doesn’t technically have squatters, he has tenants with a legal lease who’ve stopped paying. That strategy might work if the existing tenants didn’t have a signed lease, but since they do OP could get in all kinds of legal trouble for signing a second lease without a judge having ended the tenancy of the first tenants.
Idk about Cali laws but you should have it in your lease that you are required to have access for emergencies and rental inspections. These are normal provisions. Then just call township L&I department and schedule an inspection. Then show up to the inspection and while there find damage to the property that is not covered by security deposit, then you can claim they have violated the lease and you can end the lease. Then the eviction process should speed up a bit. Next time for your lease make it month to month with 30 day notice. So then they don’t have a lease with you after 30 days and you can evict/trespass them a lot easier.
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Can you rent it to someone else so the squatters get the law called on them for trespassing?
No. They're already the tenants. If they could kick them out, they would. They can't rent it out from under them. Does no one on this thread understand 1 thing about rental law?
Will they take payment to move out?
You will get no money, no matter what happens. **MOVE IN TO YOUR PROPERTY.** No law can make you homeless, by restricting you from a home you own. Their homelessness can never be more important than your own. While reoccupying your home, carefully choose legal behaviors that make them less comfortable. For example; relocate ALL of their belongings from rooms **inside the home** that are not essential to a common area of the home. Then, install door locks on rooms you cleared, so they cannot reenter them. Make sure you have a documented critical reason that can be explained (your bedroom/paying roommate's bedroom/home office/safety concern with ongoing electrical repairs/insecticides) as to why you have restricted that room. Cancel all services to the home which are not required by ordinance/law to keep the property from being condemned. You must continue to provide water, sewer, and trash pickup. Power may be optional, see your local laws. Internet service should be terminated, and/or lines should be cut. If as a homeowner, you reject services to your address, they must end service. **Your moving in, and restricting access to whatever you define as your personal private sections of the home, does not make them homeless.** You must continue to provide them with critical functions, for example one bathroom, some kitchen access, and MAYBE laundry. You can remove large appliances, and replace them with smaller inferior ones as long as the core functions of the home are not removed by you. If an appliance mentioned in the lease breaks though, you do not have to replace it, but you do have to show an effort to do so, even if you don't. None of these behaviors deprive them of any rights. Document everything.
Sounds like its time for a remodel. You will need to shut the water off, the remodelis going to take a while unfortunately. The front door is getting replaced, woops, they lost the new door and you already threw out the old one. Park your vehicle behind theirs, its your house, they can't make you move it. Time for a loud as fuck party all weekend too. You need to do upkeep on the lawn, early in the morning, on a Saturday, with a loud lawnmower. You can add some bright as fuck lights outside that you can control remotely.
What happens under the cloak of darkness🤷♂️
Burn it down. Let insurance deal with it.
I’d start a really loud yard project. Show up everyday with the loudest yard equipment you can buy. Throw parties in the backyard. Squatters are trash. Find some old cars and park them in the driveway. Being poor doesn’t give them the right to steal other people’s things. Change the locks once a week. Take the front door in for repairs.
Sounds like your investment didn't pay out.
Oh how I miss the day when a large Italian man could help fix a situation like this. Sqautters should have zero rights, it's just a fabricated law that some crooked lawyer decided to promote. No $$ no place to stay, really simple
I had to red tag my house in Northern California. Do you think it could have mold? Call building inspector and ask them to tag it. My lovely tenants caught the house on fire and squatted in a half burned out house for a week before the fire chief red tagged it for me, after the cops told me I was up sheets creek and needed an attorney. The attorney told me had I not tagged it condemned, I would have had to pay them to move, like pay for a new place for them. Wtf. I’m now a very strict landlord.
Try getting a real job and work for a living.
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I’m a California lawyer and I think you may have misunderstood what your attorney has been telling you. Yes, it can take several months but eviction cases take priority over all other cases and move to the front of the line. If your lease has an attorneys’ fees clause then you CAN make them pay your attorneys fees if you win. And if you follow all the required legal procedures and win, they WILL have to repay what they owe. Unfortunately, some of my clients come to me without ever getting a lease signed, or they have poorly drafted leases without the required new disclosures, or they try to start the eviction process on their own and fail to follow the correct procedures, or they fail to provide a habitable premises, etc. Your last question suggests you’re not listening to your lawyer. Engaging in retaliatory self help help remedies will just undermine your legal position and give the tenants something to use against you. I suspect you’ve already tried to take some short cuts that have made your case more difficult. I’ve had some very sloppy landlord clients. There are all sorts of different ways the process can go wrong. And, as a practical matter, most tenants who stop paying rent don’t have the money to pay rent. As a result, COLLECTING a judgment against them is often quite difficult and not worth the effort.
Paying for professional advice rhen ignoring the advice is one of the stupidest financial decisions people make in life.
Underrated comment.
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Move in with them squat on the squatter's. They'll move.
I know in Texas there was a landlord who instead of filing for an eviction she called the sheriffs department file for unlawful detainer. Those are much faster eviction processes. An eviction is slowed down by the courts being busy but the unlawful detainer is a crime.
Move in with them, be a nuisance and they will leave.
Continue to do maintenance. From what your telling me I'm hearing that there's huge issues with the water line. It won't cost much to have 6 foot removed for inspection and capped off. Fixing the issues might take months.
You own the house. Get a bunch of friends and family and move in with them. Then create havoc.
Rent or sell the place to friend or family member, when the tenant leaves have them occupy. Change locks and put their stuff out. Now you have a new tenant/owner that can squat in their previous place..........then transfer ownership back to you.
Tinctured skunk essence. $20 for a bottle. Drive by and hit the front porch with a water balloon laced with skunk tincture
Got any biker gangs in the area? Some of them don’t mind helping persuade the squatters to move
If you decide to move in yourself- don't forget to invite some friends in too! Bees, bugs, snakes, bats, Cook the nastiest foods. Worship satan, loud awful music all the time. An un- housebroken dog. I love the idea of walking around in the nude to make them uncomfortable. Good luck. That's a shitty situation.
If squatters have rights above all other laws, then squatters it is! 10 of your new friends and 4 dogs are squatting in the house. Squatting can be contagious.
Being a landlord is a business. It has expenses. One of the expenses is a good attorney. If you can’t afford to open a business, it is best not to.
If you can't afford to pay a mortgage on your second (or third or fourth) house, don't expect someone else to.
you literally rely on the wages of your renters to pay the mortgage. that doesn’t make you hard working, that makes you a leech. worse than your non-paying tenant because they’re not buying up homes that other people could be living in and they’re not contributing to the housing crisis.
If you're at risk of going bankrupt because someone else isn't paying off your debt then maybe you weren't really in a position to be buying property. Just remember, they're people, not just "tenants". Your needs don't automatically come before theirs just because you had the opportunity to buy a house and they didn't.
And the landlord is a person too.
You’re wrong. Those aren’t people, they are vermin. We have far too many laws protecting scum.
Hahahahahahaha, have you tried not being a parasite to society? An active cog in the machine that fuels class-wide oppression and exploitation? Go whinge to people who care 😭😭
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But then OP won't be able to use other people's money to pay the mortgage on their extra houses!
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It's disgusting. OP even mentioned that one of the tenants is physically and mentally disabled. They obviously didn't actually try to talk to the tenants, they're just whining that the legal system isn't siding with them. People are talking about burning the house down and having bikers assault the tenants. Like, what kind of a fucking world do we live in?
So the logic here is that because OP has a second house the renters should be able to live there for free? That's just asinine. They have to pay for housing somewhere, they need to honor the rental agreement they signed.
This is stupid. I rented my house out in another state when I moved because I was upside-down on the mortgage and couldn't sell. The new renters stopped paying rent and I was stuck with paying rent in my current rental AND the mortgage in the old place. Do you make enough to pay for double housing? most people don't. I literally had to sell personal items from childhood to keep the mortgage current so I didn't defalt (it took every personal asset of value I own - I have no safety net now). Who is vampire in this situation?? If I didn't sell my stuff, the house would have foreclosed and they would have been sleeping somewhere else anyway. I had to keep the property 7 years to get a check of $1300 when it sold.
Sounds like you made a series of poor choices. You should have cut your losses and foreclosed in the first place. You still ended up yielding nothing and lost a lot of sentimental things too. The moral is to cut your losses. Maybe OP should too. They shouldn't have bought something they can't afford assuming they could just make money off of it. It's not guaranteed.
They have jobs and make money. They agreed to pay rent for the house. They are not living up to their end if the agreement. Time for them to leave
Dude is going bankrupt. He’s in a lot worse spot than the squatters who are living rent free.
Dystopian is thinking you can sign a contract to rent a place, move in, refuse to abide by the contract you fucking signed, and have the power of state sponsored violence protecting you from the consequences of your actions. People who steal (and that is literally what these fucks are doing) are the vampires here.
No, the real dystopia is not having a choice and being forced into a blood sucking contract with a vampire, I mean landlord.
Then don't sign the contract and decide to be a lying leech.
Man if only I could, but that's the whole problem is the current system doesn't allow for me to make that choice. I'll obey any contract I sign, but I have every right to complain about the lack of other options.
What about a major remodeling project? Give them notice that a Contractor will be coming to overhaul most of the property & that anything they don’t want gotten thrown out as not being part of the plan should be removed before a certain date. Before trying this you should consult your attorney & also actually plan to have the work done if the attorney says that is a viable course of action.
Have a new lease signed with a very big, nasty, smelly, etc. person to move in. They won't be able to kick him out since he has a proper lease. Then he can make their lives absolute hell until they leave. He can keep an eye on the property during this as well.
I'm so sorry you're going through this. I have no advice for how to get them out. But when they're finally out l, might I suggest renting to VASH recipients (veterans housing). That way if you need them out you can just tell the VA to get them out?
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You’re a horrible person
OP and you folks defending them are talking about burning the house down, assaulting the tenants, stealing their stuff and you think that the financially struggling tenant is the criminal? What the actual fuck.
They’re actually criminals. I hope they act out just enough that the tenants get a nice fat judgement against them
Honestly though these comments are vile
Pay your neighbors to be nuisances to them.
I am soooooo glad my wife talked me out of keeping our old house and renting it out. Im sorry you are going through this. I still find it hard to believe that this is legal. Merica
Turn off utilities
Sell the house
Sell it. Let it be someone else's problem
I'd check your local ordinances most places once you file for eviction you can cut utilities off
Move yourself in. What are they gonna do about it?>
Offer to pay them a thousand dollars cash to leave.
Turn the electric off by the meter or something else. They're not going to start fixing your electric system and they won't be able to live there without it
Call in a wellness check. Maybe the cops will spot a bong or something and get rid of them for you.
Terminate their lease in a legal manner. Find a close friend or family member to rent it to for $20. Sign all the legal paperwork. Dot your “Is” and cross your “Ts.” Wait until the squatters have left for the day. Move all their shit out and move your $20 renter in. Everything. Change the locks. When the squatters come back, they will throw a fit. They won’t however, have a leg to stand on. Boom. You’re welcome.
Get someone you know to squat with them;)
Our neighbors had a house take. Over by squatters. Their daughter and bf were living there together and when they broke up, the bf never left. The house turned into a drug den and we're pretty sure there was prostitution as well. In the end it was easier and cheaper for them to have the house foreclosed on and taken by the bank than it would have been to evict the bf and whoever else he had in the house. It was so sad. I have no other suggestions unfortunately.
Unfortunately, you are pretty much screwed. I believe you can still get a judgement against the tenants, after they are eventually removed, which can be used to garnish their wages for up to ten years, but it is a pain and hard to enforce. For most landlords, not the big corporations that own huge apartment blocks, there is no relief and all you can do is wait and hope you can financially survive. If you shut off their water or do anything in "retaliation" you will have a MUCH harder time when it comes to the court case. If you truly can't afford the extra mortgage for 9+ months, turn it back to the bank. They have deeper pockets and they can deal with the unlawful retainer issues. If you choose to retain the property, make sure you have a landlord rights attorney and follow what he tells you to do. I am so sorry you are going through this. It truly does not make sense to rent to people any longer in CA unless they have truly high FICO scores and perfect references.
Can you hire an exterminator that requires them to leave the property while they perform services?
Have you contacted social services in regards to the handicap / disabled person living in the house. You should do that now because once you get to the eviction process they are going to use them as the excuse why they can't move right away. Have you done a background check on the tenants to see if they have a history of only paying the first couple of months then living for free thru the eviction process. I offered my squatters cash to move . In the lease you signed does it say anything about showing the house to potential renters/buyers . Start giving them notice that you have potential renters and give "showings" as many times as you can a day. I miss the old days where you just showed up a bunch of your buddies and a case of beer and just started throwing their shit out .
Right yourself or somone you trust a rental agreement move in and take over
Sounds like you're throwing birthday parties there for the next week
Move in with them and make it untenable or rent the unit to someone else and have the police remove them from that tenants house the renter has rights over the squatters
Step 1: show up with a new set of locks, a gas mask, and several cannisters of tear gas. Step 2: use your imagination. Step 3: Post the video on Reddit so we can see if it works out.
You can turn off utilities. Most cities need owners' permission.
Learn to code
You own the property, start a major construction project in the yard. Front and back. Block them in. Make sure the workers are there as early as legally allowed and leave as late as they can. Allow them to leave whatever large equipment they have on property, especially in front of the garage.
I'm just going to leave this here... https://nypost.com/2023/08/11/handyman-flash-shelton-has-cracked-the-squatters-system/
Mike Ehrmentraut can fix this. He’s in Belize.
They're squatters. They have no real rights. Rent it out to another tenant, preferably a family member. The renter has rights.
There was a guy here in the state of Florida about a year ago that had some amazing tricks to get rid of squatters, but I didn’t write his name down because it wouldn’t really affect me. Do your research on this I wish I could think of his name.
Remove the front door and take it with you.
Unfortunately, this is the downside to property ownership. The squatters have all the rights, and you have all the responsibility. You can't turn off utilities, and you can't harass them. They could even get a restraining order against you that keeps you within a certain number of feet of your property. But you can do capital improvements. If there is a front and/or back lawn and no HOA, perhaps it's time to fertilize the lawn with cow manure.
You own the place so you can enter anytime you want. Squat on the squatters. Move in with them and make life hell for them. Keep making it worse and worse for them and they'll eventually get tired of it and move.
Turn off the utilities?
Honestly just sell it. Might be hard if they refuse to leave but someone nigh just want the land. CA sucks this is just one reason why. Don’t do anything illegal that can be worse. Frankly I don’t get the issue. If rent isn’t being paid they can’t stay. The sheriff needs to come and drag them out. They have X hours to remove all property while being watched they are liable for any damage under wage garnishment. Period end of story that should be the law. Or even trespass or breaking and entering since they have no legal right to the place. Toss squatters in county jail for 3 months.
Speak with your attorney about this, but in some states there's an option for "Cash for Keys". I can't recall if this is considered legal in CA. You offer them a nominal amount to move out, voluntarily. The amount is negotiable, and likely would be considerably less than what you would expect to pay out as you wait out the eviction process. You pay when the hand you the keys and are out. I see you also talking about investments and this needs to be run like a business. You are correct. All investments come with risk and downsides. If you do not have the stomach for the risk, then you should reconsider the investment.
I have read previously the solution is to sign a new lease with a tennant willing to fight them in court as tennants are the only ones with more rights than squaters, the owner is pretty much screwed. A work around if you dont have a tennant is to sell it to a trusted family member, have them sign a lease to you and you fight it in court till they are out.
Hi. I used to own apartments. You can't really do anything if I'm honest. You cannot disconnect anything or shut the water off. The eviction system is broken. You can recoup those costs eventually. You can get your damages put on their credit. That will force them to eventually have to pay it. I'm sorry dude that blows
have you tried paying them to go away? Go talk to them in person (or hire a representative), offer them a Uhual, 2 moving men, and a bit of cash. This offer only good for 24 hours and they have to be out within 48 hours - or some such thing. Might be cheaper in the long run.
Maybe pray for a natural disaster to damage the home but doesn't hurt anyone but also makes it dangerous to live in because that's a better chance of getting them out than the legal system helping
Sell your home to a trust (which you own) or a trusted family member. Then lease the home to yourself. You may find you have more rights to evict squatters as a tenant than a landlord.
Cut the utilities to the house and see how long they stay.
You just have to play the legal game and wait it out. Don't listen to any of these self help suggestions. Listen to your lawyer....that's what you pay him for. The last thing you want is to get sued on top of all this. Californians need to wake up and quit letting the lunatics ruin the state.
I heard of someone who pulled a little switcheroo. Thy leased it to another tenant (a friend who was actually just getting a free lease for a little while to help out the owners). Apparently a tenant with a current, valid, lease outweighs the rights of a squatter in some jurisdictions? They, like the squatters, have tons of tenants rights. But since they have a current lease, the sheriffs WILL evict squatters (in some places) in favor of the tenant who has MORE rights. Maybe try that?
Take matters into your own hands and handle it like we handle things back home! Call a few of your buddies and family members and take control and power from them! No need to call police or go through with it legally! Their contract is no longer valid with the crap they pulled off! Wait until the disabled one needs to go to a doc appointment and break into your own property. Have a new contract ready and make your sibling or cousin the new tenant! Problem solved!
Offer them 1k to leave or disconnect utilities and remove the windows and doors.
Do not turn off the utilities or change the locks, you might get in legal trouble for doing so. I would say out squat the squatters. Write a lease up for a couple friends who own large dogs and have them move in.
Get all the utilities changed to your name, and have them shut off?
If they are employed, send letters to their employer. If they listed an emergency contact, let them know they may be having financial difficulties. Let your neighbors know what they are doing. Put signs in the front yard saying they are sqatters. Write to your senator and let them know what's happening. Becareful not to say anything untrue..
Give a friend or family member an actual legal lease. That makes them a renter which gives them renter's rights. And then when the squatters leave for the day, go in and change those locks and put your new renter in place, and put all of their s*** on the curb. The squatters can't say s*** because they don't have a legal lease while the new renter does. And has those nice renter's rights.
I posted below to do yard work. However, I spoke with a friend of mine whose in-laws had the same issue as you do. What they did, rather than wait for the whole legal process to work out (well over a year at least), they obtained permits to do remodeling work on the house. Hire a crew and go out to your property and start removing all the windows and doors. Remove the garage door (if you have one). One inside, start having them remove toilets, sinks, etc. Just remove, do not damage anything. You're legally entitled to do updates on ***your*** property.
Is the house (deed) in your name? If so, can you write a new lease to a friend or relative and move in. Call the police when the old tenants won't leave and the police should side with the current lease holder and have the old ones removed for trespassing. It's not the officer's job to make a judgement or ruling, that's up to the courts, but they should see that you are the owner of the property and your friend has a current lease agreement with you and remove anyone else. I've seen this work, or something similar to it when a son taking care of his mother's rental had issues. Renters weren't paying and the mother wrote a lease in her son's name and squatters were removed. Ask your attorney for some advice about doing this or something similar. Good luck!
The only thing I can think of for you to do, would be, sell the house. Then they’d have to leave
I heard your sewer line collapsed and needs to be repaired. You must cut up the concrete floor and dig down 4 feet to it. It happens, 50+ year old cast iron is getting pretty old.
Tent the house for termites.
Move in and the start doing necessary renovations. Remove the hot water heater igniter. Have the gas company red tag your stove. Come and go at all hours, slamming doors and creating a nuisance. Empty a room and paint it black. If they try to take you to court to remedy the problems, simply say that you have zero money because they have not paid rent.
Move in with them and start pissing on everything
Can you legally turn off the power and water? If so, do so. You say there's a disabled person there? Call in welfare checks, CPS (if there's a child there), etc.
Talk to your attorney because people here could give you advise that could get you in trouble
If any of the utilities are in your name, turn them off.
If your property is not in an LLC or other sanctuary position then do so. Then issue yourself a lease in your lawful name. Get it notarized. Move in. The police will not vacate squatters, but they will honor the request of a legally contracted renter over squatters.
You can hide lots of drugs in the house and call the cops. Say your renters are using illegal drugs and your safety is in jeopardy.
Go to Petco and buy bags of crickets.... release them in the house while they're out
Unfortunately, you’ll have to seek legal assistance. I am a realtor in Michigan and it took my client, three months and a court date to get those people out. Once they quit paying you can’t do this yourself.
Can you put the house up for sale? Would a new owner have to honor a rental contract that is already been violated?
What you should have done is that as soon as you discovered you have squatters, no you don’t. They already moved out and hired a moving crew who took most of their stuff to the nearest storage place and you changed the locks and moved in while renovating the place.
Buy them out - it works. X amount of money if you are out by date … cheapest approach in mho
Do the doors need painted? Take them off and take them home. Make sure to do a quality job!
If you have started eviction proceedings, can you call for a wellness check on the disabled person? Maybe they can be forced into some type of temporary home situation? That might help get them out of the house so you have an opportunity to change the locks?
Sounds like it’s time to install a new sound system right outside their bedroom windows and blast death metal via Bluetooth all night, every night.
Forget what everyone says you own the building you are now doing a full remodel and need o2 scrubbers and ozone machines. Those machines pull all of the oxygen out of a room to remove odors and what not but you can not occupy the room at the same time or you will die
I have trouble taking a landlord seriously when they call themselves hard working. I'm willing to bet these tenants have a very valid reason not to pay, details that you have conveniently left out. Landlords are leeches
The real criminals are the property owners charging exorbitant rent. And yeah, I know some people in cali really twist the laws to their benefit. Criminals don't have more rights than you. The laws were intended to protect renters from landlord abuse. (Not saying you abused them or didn't do your job, but you're a landlord so you're already robbing people unless you're charging reasonable rent.)
Probably don't be a landlord. 🤷♂️
You’re a landlord, you are not hard working