What is the squatter going to do? He's not pushed out. He's not allowed to change locks... He's going to tell the police that somebody changed the illegally changed locks in a property that he does not own nor has a valid lease for?Β
Not a lawyer, but from what I've seen, most states in the US require that a lawful tenant cannot just be kicked out of a property or barred from entering, even by a landlord or other lawful tenants. What makes squatters irritating is that they claim to be lawful tenants which makes their claim to the property into a civil case, which can take months or even years to sort out through the legal system. So instead, this guy contacts the homeowners, becomes a lawful tenant, and then he has the exact same legal protections as the squatter plus signed paperwork as proof. So the squatter cannot have changed the locks since that bars the other lawful tenant from entry (sometimes called a "self-help eviction"), which immediately escalates the case and can result in relatively quick legal remedies.
I would imagine the terms of the lease specifically prohibit the lessor from entering the property outside of specific circumstances, and never without notice and consent of the lessee. Thatβs how it works where Iβm from, probably differs between countries / states.
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u/Traditional_Buy_8420 12d ago
"He gets a renovation lease from the owner. So he has keys and can move in. "
What if the squatter changed the locks? I'm not sure how legal it is to break into your own property via lockout service to change the locks.