How to avoid squatters

It is very difficult to claim title by Adverse Position in any jurisdiction, which would usually require exclusive possession by the squatter and to the exclusion of all others without payment for at least 10 years unbroken.
Squatters are usually really trespassers, and i would change locks when they are out, I would not be trespassing as the legal owner, and if they broke an entry back in they would be committing a criminal offence a matter for the Police.

I like this answer… I will add it to my ammunition in preventing squatter

Currently I have them complete a registration form and switch to another room or even better, to the another apartment I have before thier stay reaches close to 30 days.

In Ohio, where I live, having a guest switch rooms and/or even leave for a day or two and come back does nothing to avoid the tenant rights a guest gets from a 30+ day-stay. I suggest you check the laws/zoning codes in your state and locality about that.

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It’s the same here so it might well be common in most other states. It makes sense.

Ok, is see what you’re saying but I avoid them staying for more than 30 days on one reservation so it’s not considered a 30+ day stay. They can stay for months… but they will have to rebook for another 14 days in a different room or in a different apartment. Each registration for they fill out and sign shows their:

Name/s, age/s,
check in and checkout dates
Address
Phone number
Room number

Thinking that I knew how the court would interpret my state’s landlord-tenant law cost me $3500. If I had paid $150 for an hour with a lawyer it would have been a lot cheaper.

Don’t take a chance. Talk to an attorney. In most states having someone change their housing unit, even with a few days as a break, doesn’t reset the 30 day counter. How much of a loss can you afford?

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Wow… What state are you in?
What type of attorney would you recommend? I did consult with an attorney who kept saying this is a gray area that is new. He wanted to write up a formal agreement for the guests to agree to but he never referred to them as guests… He kept treating the issue as a landlord/tenant issue bc that’s what he knows… He wanted to charge me $750

I think what others are trying to tell you is that the tenant’s rights, according to law, don’t have to do with the particular unit they are staying in, but the fact that they are renting from you. You are essentially the landlord and they are the tenant, whether they stay in apartment A or move to apartment B.

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Because what he knows is the law. The law says that if they stay more than 28 or 30 days (depending on state law) they are tenants, and the court will regard them as tenants, no matter what you say or how you move them around, and with current Fed regs you will not be able to evict them. I’m done with this, since you obviously don’t want to listen to the facts that folks are telling you.

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In Australia with a tenancy they are covered by tenancy laws even if there is no signed lease.

Like you, we are landlords in Pennsylvania. If you "merely move them around from room to room at the same address, at 30 days they will be tenants not guests.

Do you want to roll the dice or be smart? The only safe bet is to have the guest stay with someone else entirely after like 28 days with you. Even still, there may be a rule of X days staying over Y total days. I have not looked into it.

If you move them to entirely different addresses (different houses or apts), it is not clear. I can’t find the applicable case law. You are welcome to research it:

https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&rlz=1C1SQJL_enUS846US846&q=pennsylvania+guest+claims+residence+moved+between+different+stays&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiQ9b7O6unrAhXhnuAKHeLzC7kQ7xYoAHoECDUQKA&biw=1745&bih=852&dpr=1.1

Regardless of relevant case law, if the guest decides to stay and not pay, your position is very weak.

Consider what could actually next. The guest stops paying and claims they are a tenant. You call the police to have them removed. The guest claims you are their landlord, and shows all stays are WITH YOU. Unless your lawyer is right there next to you when this happens, the officer will likely consider it a civil matter, regardless of printed case law that supports your position.

How confident are you that the officer would toss them out in that situation? If you are thinking that, it might be prudent to speak with one before a real-life crisis, don’t you think?

If the officer says, “this is a civil matter”, you are SCREWED. Thanks to the latest BS CDC ruling, the earliest that you will get a court date is maybe January 2021, behind the current cases that are already filed.

Oh? Did I not mention that you will not be able to garnish their wages even with a favorable judgement? Feel free to Venmo me $150, since I’m not an attorney :slight_smile:

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