How to Keep Squatters Out of a Vacant House

A squatter is someone who moves into a property without the owner’s permission and stays. In an empty house, no one is there to see someone move in. Since 2024, at least ten states have changed their laws on squatting, and several now let owners have squatters removed without a full eviction case. This guide covers the steps owners take before a house sits empty, how the newer state laws work, and what an owner must never do.

Squatter, trespasser or tenant?

• Trespass means entering someone else’s property without permission.
• Squatting is trespass where the person also moves in and stays. New York’s law, for example, defines a squatter as someone who enters without permission and “continues to occupy the property without title, right or permission of the owner,” and says a tenant does not include a squatter.
• A holdover tenant is a renter who stays after the lease ends. That is not squatting. A tenant or former tenant is removed through the court eviction process, not under the squatter laws.
• Adverse possession is different again. It lets someone who openly and continuously possesses land for a long period, set by each state, claim title. The periods are long: 10 years in New York, 7 years in Florida, where the claimant must also pay the property taxes and file a sworn return with the property appraiser, and 15 years under Kentucky’s general rule. Possession with the owner’s permission does not count.

Steps police departments list

The Washoe County, Nevada, Sheriff’s Office and the Amarillo, Texas, Police Department have published steps for owners of vacant homes. They overlap closely:

• Lock every door, window and gate. Washoe County names deadbolts and padlocks.
• Visit often, or have a property manager or agent check the house and keep records.
• Remove what makes a house easy to live in: furniture, appliances and utilities the house does not need.
• Post no-trespassing signs where they can be seen.
• Add motion-sensor lights, an alarm or cameras.
• Ask a trusted neighbor to report anything suspicious.

The Vacant Property Checklist covers the rest of the routine, from utilities and mail to inspection visits.

Keep a record

The faster removal laws in states such as Florida, Kentucky and Texas ask the owner to swear to facts: that the property was not open to the public when the person entered, that no one was given permission to live there, and that the owner told them to leave. These records document those facts:

• Dated photos of each locked door and window, taken on each visit.
• A log of every visit and every key or lockbox code handed out. Keys, Lockboxes and Access has a simple system.
• Copies of any lease, listing agreement or contractor access you gave, so you can show who did and did not have permission.

Some police departments also run trespass affidavit programs: the owner files a form and posts signs, and officers can then act on the owner’s behalf when the owner is not there. Joplin, Missouri, and Tampa, Florida, are two examples. Programs and rules vary, so ask your local police or sheriff whether one exists where your property is.

Newer state removal laws

Several states now let an owner have a squatter removed by law enforcement on a sworn statement, without a full eviction case. A few examples, with the year each took effect:

• Florida (2024): the owner files a sworn complaint with the sheriff, who serves a notice to vacate immediately and puts the owner back in possession. The complaint is made under penalty of perjury.
• Georgia (2024): unlawful squatting is a misdemeanor. A person cited has three business days to produce a valid lease or rent receipts.
• New York (2024): added a legal definition of squatter.
• Alabama (2024): the owner posts a notice and gives law enforcement a sworn affidavit. Presenting a false lease or deed to stay on a property is perjury.
• Kentucky (2025): the owner petitions law enforcement, using Kentucky State Police form KSP-195 or a petition like it, and an officer serves a notice to vacate.
• Indiana (2025): after the owner signs an affidavit, officers are to remove the squatter within 48 hours unless there is credible evidence the person is not one.
• Texas (2025): the owner files a sworn complaint with the sheriff or constable. A fraudulent lease or deed is a separate crime.
• Kansas (2026): the owner posts a notice to vacate and files a sworn affidavit with law enforcement.
• Arizona and South Carolina (2026): both added faster court-based procedures.

The sworn-statement laws in Florida, Kentucky and Texas expressly leave out tenants and former tenants, those in Alabama and Kansas leave out tenants and holdover tenants, and some also leave out family members or anyone who was ever given permission to live there. Several also let a person who is wrongly removed sue the owner, for three times the fair market rent in Florida, Texas and Kansas. Laws change and differ from state to state, so read your own state’s current statute or ask your local sheriff before you rely on one.