Managing rentals brings all kinds of headaches, but trespassers and squatters are definitely the most painful.
Fortunately, these scam artists usually prefer an easy target. So with a handful of best practices, you can shut down most attempts before they start.
This guide covers what signs to watch for, how to discourage would-be squatters, and the protocols that keep your units secure—without ruining lead flow.
Spot the Signs of a Squatter Before They Move In
Ideally, squatters leave you alone forever. But if you’re being targeted, the key to avoiding an issue is to be proactive and act fast. If someone manages to move in, it’s generally easier and less costly to resolve situations when you act quickly.
Here are the most common signs a squatter may be targeting your property:
Establishing Utilities
What it looks like: You’ll start receiving notices that electric, gas, or internet service was ordered at a vacant unit. The scammer is trying to establish a paper trail that proves residency.
What to do: Contact the utility to require owner authorization for changes on all vacant units and cancel unauthorized starts immediately. If that’s not an option, check the mailboxes at least weekly.
Controlling Access
What it looks like: If you use lockboxes with keys, scammers like to steal these keys and replace them with fake ones. Or, the scammer will attend a showing and leave a door or window unlocked so they can access the unit later.
What to do: When a unit is being actively shown, conduct daily sweeps of all access points to ensure they’re secure. Also, have any self-touring prospects verify that they’ve returned the key if you’re using physical keys.
Creating Fake Listings
What it looks like: Scammers copy your listing photos and description, then “rent” the property on Facebook/Craigslist, collecting a deposit and first month’s rent, then disappearing.
What to do: Aggressively watermark your photos, set a Google Alert for fake listing addresses, and publish a short “How to rent from us” page that lists your official channels.
Best Practices to Stop Squatters Without Ruining Lead Flow
There’s plenty of low-hanging fruit to make your properties a more difficult target for squatters.
In a recent discussion, several property managers who rarely experience squatting scams shared their prevention strategies.
1. Fake Occupancy
At the risk of stating the obvious, squatters look for vacant homes. So anything you can do to make it look like a vacant unit is occupied is a good way to stop them. A few ways to do this:
- Offer the driveway to a neighbor who parks in the street, while the home is on the market.
- If you use a “For Rent” yard sign, add “Please do not disturb the occupant” to the sign.
- Put interior lights on timers.
- Place a television simulator in a room with a visible window.
Note: Some PMs love yard signs as a business development tool, but they do broadcast vacancy. For at-risk properties, you may want to skip the yard sign.
2. Monitor the Property
Self-showings often get blamed for an increased prevalence of squatters because there’s fewer eyes on the property. But whether you’re running self-showings or not, vacant units must be regularly monitored.
At-risk units should be swept at least every couple days, including a check for doors or windows left unlocked and missing keys. If necessary, invest in a security camera or other monitoring device to use on vacant units.
3. Listing & Showing Workflow
Your pre-screening, scheduling, and showing processes are full of potential vulnerabilities to scammers. Here are a few basic rules to shore up any weak points in your workflows:
- Vet prospects before the showing: At minimum, collect a government ID and require a quick selfie match. For more security, require a credit card and a brief phone call to confirm the prospect is at the listing.
- Control access: Share time-bound codes only at the time of the showing.
- Require proof of close-up: Require a texted photo of the key back in the box and the door relocked.
- Avoid full automation: Build into your process an ability for staff to intervene and cancel a showing to prevent potential scams.
4. Strong Guest Policies
Did you know your tenant’s guest can become a squatting liability if you don’t have strong policies in place? It’s true, which is why you need to be aware of the rules. While your exact policies need to account for local laws, a strong guest policy typically does the following:
- Defines a threshold for when a guest becomes an occupant (e.g., more than 10 days in a month).
- Requires approval and screening for all adult occupants.
- Prohibits sharing/duplicating keys or codes with non-approved occupants.
Without these policies in place, trespassers (i.e. your tenant’s guests) may gain squatters rights that make it more difficult and costly to evict them.
Evicting Squatters and Trespassers—How to Respond to a Squatter
If you think a squatter is targeting your property, you need to secure the property, increase monitoring, and lock down access.
If the scammer is already in the property, or scammed someone else into occupying the property, you need to use the appropriate official legal channel. Please note you can make a bad problem significantly worse if you try to throw someone out yourself.
Squatters vs Trespassers
Squatters and trespassers are two different legal classifications for someone occupying your property. A squatter is someone who occupies and claims a legal right to property that isn’t theirs. A trespasser also occupies property that isn’t theirs, but they don’t claim a legal right to it.
Squatters are removed through an eviction process; trespassers are removed by the police without an eviction process.
Typically, to evict a squatter, you’ll need to serve a written notice, contact law enforcement, and consult an attorney to start the legal eviction process as soon as possible.
That said, as you can see in the chart below, laws differ in every state, so for more information, it’s best to contact your local trial court or sheriff, consult your state judiciary website, and/or call your city or county housing department.