What are squatters rights?
Squatters don’t have a right to stay in your property just because they moved in. What they often have is a right to process. In many states, once someone claims to live there, the police treat it as a civil matter, and the owner has to go to court before anyone can be removed.
The second piece is adverse possession. A person who occupies land openly and continuously for the full period set by state law, and meets every other element, can win title. That takes years, and most squatters never come close. The real risk to an owner is the lost rent, damage and delay while you prove the occupant has no right to be there.
Squatter vs holdover tenant vs trespasser
It comes down to how the person got in. A holdover tenant entered with permission under a lease and stayed after it ended. A trespasser is on the property without permission, and a squatter is a trespasser who lives there and acts like a resident.
The label decides the removal path. A holdover tenant is still a tenant, so you need a notice and an eviction case under your state’s landlord tenant law. A squatter may be removable through a faster trespass or unauthorized-occupant procedure, depending on the state.
| Occupant | How they got in | Usual removal path |
|---|---|---|
| Holdover tenant | Lease or permission that has ended | Notice, then eviction lawsuit |
| Squatter | No permission; living in the unit | Trespass, sheriff affidavit or ejectment, by state |
| Trespasser | No permission; not living there | Police removal for trespass |
What is adverse possession?
Adverse possession is a way to gain title to someone else’s land by possessing it for the statutory period in a way the law treats as a claim of ownership. Courts usually require every element below, and the person claiming title has to prove them.
- Actual possession: physically using the property the way an owner would.
- Open and notorious: visible enough that a reasonable owner would notice.
- Exclusive: not shared with the owner or the public.
- Hostile or adverse: without the owner’s permission. A tenant or anyone else with permission can’t qualify.
- Continuous: unbroken for the full statutory period.
- Extra state rules: some states also require paying the property taxes or holding a written instrument called color of title.
Adverse possession laws by state
The period runs from 5 years to 20 years or more, and some states shorten it when the occupant pays the taxes or holds a deed that turns out to be defective. California’s Code of Civil Procedure Section 325 requires 5 years of continuous occupation plus proof, from the tax collector’s certified records, that the claimant timely paid all state, county and municipal taxes on the land for those 5 years.
Texas has a ladder of periods in its Civil Practice and Remedies Code: 3 years under title or color of title (16.024), 5 years for someone who uses the property, pays the taxes and claims under a registered deed (16.025), 10 years for someone who cultivates, uses or enjoys it (16.026), and 25 years in 16.027 and 16.028. Florida requires 7 years under either 95.16 or 95.18. Without color of title, 95.18 also requires paying the outstanding taxes within one year of entering and filing a return with the property appraiser.
In New York, an owner generally loses the right to sue for possession after 10 years under CPLR 212, and RPAPL 501 requires a claim of right, meaning a reasonable basis for believing the property belongs to the occupant. Georgia requires 20 years without written title or 7 years under color of title, and Section 44-5-161 says possession must be public, continuous, exclusive, uninterrupted and peaceable.
| State | Period | Statute | Key extra requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 5 years | Code Civ. Proc. 325 | Claimant paid all property taxes for the 5 years |
| Texas | 3, 5, 10 or 25 years | Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 16.024–16.028 | Shorter periods need color of title, a registered deed or tax payments |
| Florida | 7 years | Fla. Stat. 95.16, 95.18 | Without color of title: pay taxes and file a return with the property appraiser |
| New York | 10 years | CPLR 212; RPAPL 501, 511, 521 | Claim of right required |
| Georgia | 20 years, or 7 with color of title | O.C.G.A. 44-5-161, 44-5-163, 44-5-164 | Public, continuous, exclusive, uninterrupted, peaceable |
The 2024–2025 anti-squatter laws
Four large states changed their laws after a string of high-profile squatting cases. Florida’s HB 621, chapter 2024-44, took effect July 1, 2024 and created Fla. Stat. 82.036. An owner of residential property can file a sworn complaint with the county sheriff, who verifies ownership, serves a notice to immediately vacate and puts the owner back in possession. The law also added penalties for presenting a fake lease or deed.
New York’s 2024 state budget amended RPAPL 711 to say a tenant does not include a squatter, defined as someone who enters without the permission of the person entitled to possession and stays without title, right or permission. So a squatter no longer picks up tenant protections just by staying 30 days.
Georgia’s Squatter Reform Act, HB 1017 (2024), created the crime of unlawful squatting in O.C.G.A. 16-7-21.1. Someone who gets a citation has 3 business days to produce a lease, rental agreement or proof of rent, or faces arrest. If papers are produced, the magistrate must hold a hearing within 7 days. Texas followed with SB 1333, effective September 1, 2025. It added Property Code Chapter 24B, which lets the sheriff or constable remove an unauthorized occupant on the owner’s sworn complaint.
These fast tracks have limits. Florida’s and Texas’s procedures don’t apply to current or former tenants, immediate family members or people in pending litigation with the owner, and a wrongful removal can cost the owner damages equal to three times the fair market rent plus attorney fees.
How to remove a squatter
The fastest legal path depends on your state and on what the occupant claims, so document the facts first. Don’t change the locks, cut utilities or remove belongings on your own unless your state’s procedure allows it, because self-help can expose you to a wrongful-eviction claim. If the occupant turns out to be a tenant, our eviction process guide covers the court route.
- Confirm no one gave permission: check leases, the rent roll and your manager’s records.
- Gather proof of ownership, such as the recorded deed and a current tax bill, and photograph the unit.
- Tell the occupant in writing to leave, and keep a copy.
- Use the state fast track if there is one: a sheriff complaint in Florida, an unlawful squatting citation in Georgia or a Chapter 24B complaint in Texas.
- Otherwise file the court action your state uses for unauthorized occupants, such as ejectment or a summary proceeding.
- Secure the unit the day you get it back, and check every other vacant unit.
How owners of vacant buildings protect themselves
The best protection is making the building look and act occupied, and keeping a record that proves no one had permission. Squatters pick units that look abandoned, and adverse possession claims fail when the owner can show regular visits and clear notice.
Insurance is the other gap. Many commercial property policies cut coverage for vandalism and water damage once a building has been vacant past a set number of days, so tell your agent before units go dark and ask about a vacancy permit or endorsement.
- Inspect vacant units on a schedule and log each visit with dated photos.
- Post no-trespassing signs, keep utilities on and put lights on timers.
- Secure ground-floor openings and change locks after every move-out.
- Pay the property taxes yourself, on time. In California and Florida, an adverse possessor generally has to pay them.
- Watch rental sites for fake listings of your units, a common setup for lease scams.
Worked example: what squatters in two units cost a seller
Take a 10-unit building under contract for $1,500,000. A month before closing, squatters take over two vacant units, and the buyer won’t close until they’re gone. Removal takes 4 months, and the seller carries the building the whole time.
Each month of delay costs $10,737.50: $5,062.50 of interest-only debt service on a $900,000 loan at 6.75%, $1,375 of property tax at 1.1%, $1,000 of insurance and $3,300 of rent the two units should be producing at $1,650 each. Over 4 months that’s $42,950. Add $6,500 of legal fees and $18,000 to repair the two units at $9,000 each, and the total is $67,450, about 4.5% of the price.
That doesn’t count a buyer who walks away or asks for a credit. In a state with a sheriff fast track, the same problem might be solved in weeks.
| Cost item | Monthly | 4 months |
|---|---|---|
| Interest-only debt service ($900,000 at 6.75%) | $5,062.50 | $20,250 |
| Property tax (1.1% of $1,500,000) | $1,375 | $5,500 |
| Insurance | $1,000 | $4,000 |
| Lost rent, 2 units at $1,650 | $3,300 | $13,200 |
| Legal fees | $6,500 | |
| Unit repairs, 2 at $9,000 | $18,000 | |
| Total | $10,737.50 | $67,450 |
How squatters affect selling a vacant or distressed building
Squatters hit a sale in three places: the buyer’s financing, the title and the timeline. Lenders and title companies want every unit accounted for on the rent roll, so an occupant with no lease has to be resolved or priced before closing.
A buyer will usually ask for one of three things: removal before closing, an escrow holdback until the unit is delivered vacant or a price cut big enough to cover the risk. If the building has other problems too, like deferred maintenance, open code cases or mounting tax bills, our guide to selling a distressed apartment building explains how buyers price the whole package.
A true adverse possession claim is rarer but worse, because a title insurer may except it from coverage until a court resolves it. Owners who keep up with taxes, inspections and written notice almost never face one.
How this works for a 5+ unit apartment building
In a 5+ unit building, squatters almost always take individual vacant units, not the whole building. So the question goes unit by unit: is this person a guest of a tenant, a former tenant holding over, a subtenant or a stranger? Each answer leads to a different removal path.
Larger buildings also have more doors to watch, and a building with several units empty during a renovation or a slow lease-up is the usual target. The Florida and Texas fast tracks speak of a residential dwelling, so check how your state applies them to one unit in a larger building. An estoppel certificate from every tenant and a unit-by-unit walk before closing catch most problems early.
Selling your building to Skyline
Skyline Capital Investments buys 5+ unit apartment buildings nationwide, including vacant and partly vacant buildings and buildings with unauthorized occupants. We look at the rent roll and the occupancy facts and price the deal around them, so you don’t have to finish the removal before you sell.
Send the address and unit count through the form on this page or call (469) 660-2977. We typically respond within 48 hours.
