HELP! how do I get rid of squatter? - Posted by Mary-Beth

Posted by Rick, the Probate Guy on November 19, 2006 at 09:31:32:

Mary-Beth - You’re unclear as to two things:

  1. Is he living in the property or merely storing personal effects (sounds like the former)?

  2. Does he have any legal interest as an heir or distributee (receiving any part of the house)?

We deal with this problem frequently (believe it or not). Unlawful detainer laws (eviction) vary widely vary widely from state to state (even among cities), but I can safely say that without any ownership interest in the house, nor any written rental/lease agreement, he’ll have to be dealt with just like any other holdover tenant, and be given the same statutory “notice to quit” (vacate).

Whoever has the legal power to initiate this (you don’t say who’s in charge of your Grandmother’s estate) should contact an eviction service in your area and have them serve Grandson with the appropriate notice to vacate. That way, the time clock has started on him and he knows that you mean business.

Next, offer to give him a little money (figure about what the eviction costs would be) if (and only after) he moves. If he tries to delay (he will) then let the eviction attorney handle everything and don’t interfere with the process (and avoid any verbal encounters from this point on).

The process could require the attorney going to court to get an unlawful detainer order and eventually a sheriff’s lock out date.

Be prepared to go the whole way if you start this. You didn’t cause the problem; he did. He’s holding the family home hostage at your expense. If you get him served now, perhaps one of his friends will feel sorry for him because of the holidays and encourage him to move in with them. You can later return the favor by referring his friend to your eviction service, too!

HELP! how do I get rid of squatter? - Posted by Mary-Beth

Posted by Mary-Beth on November 19, 2006 at 06:47:10:

We are cleaning out my grandmother’s house for sale.We have fought continuosly with the current tenant who is her grandson and has no legal lease.Now he has moved his stuff into the garage and has threatened us not to touch it.Anytime we go down there he calls and screams at us that we touched his stuff.He was supposed to have all his stuff out of there over a month ago and we have filled two roll off dumpsters with what was left behind so far and we haven’t even touched the basement.We were told twice that he was out by the owner and that everything was to go into the dumpster.How do we legally get him and his belongings off the property so we can finish? I looked up Mass general laws but I couldn’t find anything specific.

Let’s Simplify This - Posted by Jimmy

Posted by Jimmy on November 20, 2006 at 08:24:00:

The owner of the house needs to do a couple things:

  1. You probably need to treat grandson as a month-to-month tenant. That is the safest approach. The owner needs to give him a 30 day notice. Basically, the owner is exercising her right to terminate the tenancy.

  2. On the 31st day, if gransdon or his stuff is still there, file an eviction action.

  3. let the process work for you. this protects you from claims of wrongful eviction, claims of property being stolen/misapppriated, etc.

  4. Finally, I would take the house off the market until you can eradicate the problem.