Tenant removal services - anyone heard of them?

Question

I been talking to a realtor and another big property manager here in southern California and they both mentioned they have a service where it is very grey area in terms of getting a bad tenant out. The property manager wouldn't give me details but the realtor did.

The realtor said what they do is they camp outside and see when the unit becomes vacant and they get in and remove all the tenants belongings and change the locks and then actually live there for a period of time with a valid lease. He told me the success rate is very good and they never had a problem. This sounds like it would work for a squatter situation but not for a valid tenant with a lease which is what I have. I asked him if i can get in trouble and sued after and he said it has never happened before.

Does anyone have experience with this type of services? Its apparently popular enough that I heard it from two different sets of people.

Drew Sygit · Answer

@David P. Do you ever exceed the speed limit when driving a car?

How often are you ticketed?

Many speed, knowing their chances of getting a ticket are actually pretty low.

This MAY be similar, but the downside much worse.

If you illegally force out a tenant - you may get away with it - several times.

But, then you run into that one tenant that finds an attorney - and they sue.

How do you think a judge or jury will look at your illegal removal, in a tenant-friendly state like California?
- I wouldn't be worried about the actual damages awarded, would be more concerned about the amount of punitive damages awarded!

Only YOU can weigh the risk-reward and make the decision since you are the one that will bear the potential consequences for your choices.

Kenneth Garrett · Answer

Illinois which is not landlord friendly just passed a new law this year (see below).  California which is also not landlord friendly should do something similar.  I find it amazing how a squatter has any legal right just by stealing possession of someone’s property.  Is there no common sense.  To make a landlord evict someone who has no legal to a property is criminal in itself.

Illinois' new anti-squatter law, Senate Bill 1563, effective January 1, 2026, empowers police to remove unauthorized occupants (squatters) as criminal trespassers, bypassing lengthy civil eviction processes by clarifying that property owners can prove ownership to law enforcement to get squatters removed quickly. This change reclassifies squatters as trespassers, allowing quicker law enforcement action, and stops them from using tenant protections to delay removal.

Henry Lazerow · Answer

With an actual squatter you can give someone a lease and have them move in hopefully annoy them enough they leave, but if move their stuff out you open yourself up to lawsuits. In liberal cities could easy be hundreds of thousands in extra awarded damages. Don’t buy in bad sides of cities, I have never had any clients need to evict or deal with squatters. On the cheaper side of my city it happens all the time, some areas even have crazy 10% eviction rates.

Lokesh W. · Answer

I have seen this type service for squatters in the news. Basically they do the same thing or sometimes they sign a lease with the landlord and move while the squatter is still there; they occupy some part of the unit like a vacant space (basement), living room couch showing the signed lease from the landlord :-) (squatter don't have a signed lease so this new guy with the signed lease is actually has the right to stay in the house), play loud music, talk too loudly on the phone, watch TV while everyone is asleep etc. etc. so the squatter gets fed up and decides to leave. I have not heard of this service for tenant who is on the current lease i.e. someone whose rental payments are current. You have to provide more details about why the tenant is bad, specific breach of contract etc.

James Jones · Answer

Why this is extremely risky (especially in California)

If the tenant has a valid lease or lawful possession, the actions you described are almost always illegal:

Changing locks without a court order

Removing tenant belongings

Taking possession while the tenant still has legal occupancy

“Waiting until they leave and moving in” without formal surrender

In California, possession matters more than presence. A tenant does not lose rights just because they step out for work, travel, or a few days.

If a tenant can show:

A lease

Utility usage

Personal property inside

Mail delivery

Prior access

You are exposed.

Potential consequences (real, not theoretical)

Landlords who attempt this can face:

Statutory damages (often several times monthly rent)

Treble damages in some jurisdictions

Attorney’s fees for the tenant

Punitive damages

Criminal charges in extreme cases

A judge who is already hostile before the case even starts

In California, judges are not neutral on this issue.

The realtor saying “it’s never happened before” is meaningless. All it takes is one tenant who knows their rights or calls Legal Aid.

When this might be legal (very narrow scenarios)

There are only a few situations where taking possession without eviction court is defensible:

Clear abandonment, documented thoroughly

No belongings

Utilities off

Written surrender

Keys returned

Squatters with no tenancy established, and even this is increasingly contested

Post-eviction lockout, after a sheriff executes a writ

What you described does not fit these categories if there is a valid lease.

Why people still talk about it

This “service” persists because:

It sometimes works when tenants are unsophisticated

Tenants don’t always fight back

Enforcement is complaint-driven

But when it fails, it fails badly.

This is survivorship bias, not legality.

The correct play in California

If the tenant has a lease:

Serve proper notice (pay or quit, cure or quit, etc.)

File unlawful detainer

Let the sheriff handle possession

If timing or cash flow is the issue:

Cash-for-keys, properly documented, is far safer

Voluntary surrender agreements work if done correctly

Mediation often resolves faster than court

This is not a gray area for landlords.

It’s only gray for people willing to gamble on tenants not fighting back.

If someone is offering this as a “service,” they are shifting all legal risk to you, not them.

Henry Lazerow · Answer

That law is useless in IL. All the squatter needs to do is make a fake lease which the savvy ones have experience with and then the police won’t remove them as trespassers. You can find the owner or LLC name on tax records to put on the lease easy. The only solution is don’t buy in low class areas where this stuff is common.

Tenant removal services - anyone heard of them?

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