Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Do Squatters have any rights?

I belong to a Gun Club that owns

private land out in the desert, for

whitch my club has shooting events on our property. However in the adjuacent property whitch is owned by people who are never

actually out there, or at least rarely present on their property. Their

land is just unimproved open desert parcels, and recently some squatters have set up a camping trailer on it. We did notify the owners of that property as my

Gun club retains good relations with everyone who owns any peice of land that is located close to our property. ANyway, my question is that since the owners are refusing to take any type of action against the squatters on their property, can my Club take any action to get the squatters removed? They are always producing excessive amounts of trash whitch winds up blowing in the wind accross our club's land. The owqners refuse to take action because they said they do not wish to be bothered by taking any action(because they are lazy). Canb my club do anything about this issue? I mean aside from all of us just forcing the squatters to leave at gun point?


Asked on 4/08/07, 4:19 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

Re: Do Squatters have any rights?

Only the owners have rights to act against squatters, you're not the owners. You sure don't have the right to commit assault and other crimes by pointing a gun at them or threatening them. You can call the police, building code enforcement, etc, and you could bring a nuisance action AFTER you consult with counsel who can educate you on the limits of the law and common sense.

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Answered on 4/10/07, 3:48 pm
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: Do Squatters have any rights?

Squatters can eventually become the legal owners of the property under a doctrine known as adverse possession. But the fact that the people next door to your club happen to be squatters is irrelevant to your situation.

There are laws against excessive noise and littering, and those laws apply to everyone -- not just the legal owners of a piece of property. Your best bet is probably to complain to the local police department. Noise complaints and the like are standard police matters.

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Answered on 4/08/07, 6:32 pm


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