Vacant rental homes can magnetize an utter jumble of commotion. If your tenant decamps and nobody drops in quickly, those void places seem to be provocative to trespassers and squatters. By definition, a squatter is a person who unlawfully occupies an uninhabited building or unused land. In simple terms for homeowners, a squatter is someone biding on your property without your endorsement. In some cases, this may even bring a former tenant who dwells on the property devoid of rent payment after their lease has expired or been terminated.
These unlawful occupants propound a worrying peril to your Canoga Park rental property and your dexterity to charter it to new renters. The chosen idea to ward off squatters is to keep your property secure and, if you don’t hang out next to your rental home, have a property management company probe on the vicinity often.
If you come across a squatter, it is exigent to take action without delay by checking with the police. The longer you endorse a squatter to bunk on your property, the more formidable it is to evict them because the courts might account your diffidence to evict as a sign of consent. Another inherent intricacy crops up if the squatter has turned on utilities at that address in their name. In some locations, doing so establishes residency, even though the squatter is technically plundering your property. If that befalls, the police will then suppose the condition a civil and not a criminal matter.
If the police are no good to intercede, the next step is to serve the unlawful occupant with an eviction notice. Sometimes, simply giving notice will provoke the squatter to set off. If they don’t surrender, nevertheless, you may need to submit an unlawful detainer lawsuit, which will begin formal eviction proceedings. Depending on the quickness of the court system in your location, this could take anywhere from a couple week to several months. But once you have a judgment in your favor from the court, you can sign on a local sheriff or police officer to remove the squatter for you.
The minute that you have successfully evicted your squatters, you may need to turn into their personal property. Whether they decamp on their own or are excised by force, they may leave their personal belongings behind. Depending on where the rental home is to be found, you may be able to simply get rid of these items away. On the other hand, in some townships, you may need to get their belongings in a storage unit at your cost. If the squatter doesn’t pay the storage cost and insist on their personal belongings, then you have the preference to auction it off or banish it as the ordinance in your township suggests.
Dealing with squatters can be a time-consuming, distressing process, eating up your precious time and resources. This is why proactive prevention is the prominent tactic to unlawful occupants. At Real Property Management West San Fernando Valley, we capably take over the move-out process when tenants relinquish the property and fill vacancies hurriedly. After all, an occupied rental house is a profitable, squatter-free rental house. For more information about our Canoga Park property management services, contact us online or call us at 818-727-0100 today.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
