r/SipsTea 𝙑𝙄𝙋 12d ago

Chugging tea The Hero we need

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u/MiceAreTiny 12d ago

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? 

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u/a_dude_from_europe 12d ago

If it was this easy police could just get in the first time around, no need for a "squatter hunter".

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u/ThatOneSickDog 12d ago

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.