3

Real property seems to have peculiar legal customs. For example, if somebody has leased property like a vehicle and defaults on their lease the most expeditious way for the true owner to recover the property seems to be repossession, which is essentially physical recovery by "reasonable" force.

But when it comes to a living space the old saying, "Possession is nine-tenths of the law," seems almost literally applicable: To my knowledge, in the United States at least, there are state and local laws that make it extremely cumbersome for a property owner to evict a tenant in default (and thereby recover the use of their rightful property). Is this accurate? Or are there conditions or methods whereby a property owner can legally use private force (i.e., not the force of agents of the state) and occupation to repossess living spaces being held by "squatters?"

Amendment: If someone trespasses on my property I can not only arrest them myself, but I can also immediately summon police and ask for their arrest and criminal prosecution. At what point does trespass become "squatting?" (I presume that the difference between "squatters" and "non-paying tenants" is the fact that the latter party can show that at some point they had legal rights to the residence?)

feetwet
  • 22,409
  • 13
  • 92
  • 189

1 Answers1

2

This answer applies in the U.S.

It is typically a 30-day process to evict a tenant for non-payment of a lease and it requires that the Sheriff be present to enforce the eviction order granted by the court. Similar rules for squatters.

If the person being evicted is on the title, the process is more complicated and generally impossible to do unless you go through the process of "foreclosure" to remove them from the title. Foreclosure is generally very costly and time consuming and generally requires the services of an attorney who specializes in such matters.

Alexanne Senger
  • 10,010
  • 3
  • 31
  • 61