Removing Squatters in San Diego
- Steve Schwarz
- Oct 16
- 2 min read
Squatting is the occupying of a building or land without the owner’s permission. Although it can happen anywhere, it most often occurs in unoccupied homes.
Sometimes this can be a vacant or abandoned home, but it can also happen at a person’s residence while they are away on vacation.
When it’s your property that is being occupied, it can be an enormous and costly disruption. In response to these concerns, California imposed requirements on recycling which has prompted cities and counties to enact regulations in order to comply with state requirements.
Depending on how the occupancy came to be in the premises, their presence can be considered trespassing which is a criminal act.
If this is considered trespassing the police can come in and remove the occupants off the property.
However, this isn’t always the case and outcome. If someone originally had permission to be on the property and they remain after the permission has been revoked they are not considered trespassing in the criminal sense. This is now considered squatting.
For a trespass action, one must seek immediate removal in order to be effective. Even though the occupation was unlawful, if the occupant has been on the premises for an extended time to establish residence it shifts to being an issue of squatting.
This places what was a trespasser into the same situation as a lawful tenant that has overstayed their term, or is otherwise sought to be removed though a civil action.
In all cases of squatting, an eviction process must take place. This begins by giving notice to the occupant to leave the premises. In most situations, this is in the form of a 30-day notice to quit,
A 3-day notice to quit, however, can be used in the case when they occupied the property without permission or conducted illegal activity on the property. Once the notice period has expired an Unlawful Detainer action can be filed in the court.
To learn more, please contact San Diego Real Estate Attorneys today -- Go to RealEstateAttorneySanDiego.com or call (800) 233-8521 for a complimentary phone consultation.
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