Ideas to combat trespassing on a commercial restaurant

Phoenix, Arizona
Managing Your Property
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Ideas to combat trespassing on a commercial restaurant

Andrea Finkelstein
Rental Property Investor · Scottsdale, AZ · Member since 2019 · 34 posts · 9 votes

Hi. We own a restaurant building in Downtown Phoenix, and my tenant is having a horrible time with indigence hanging out or parking there at night and leaving dirty diapers and other items. We have all the no trespassing signs. Has anybody found an effective way to combat this? They have very few parking spaces and their patrons are leaving due to inadequate parking or the horrid way it looks when they arrive in the morning and clean up takes far too many hours each day. Any suggestions if someone has gone through this or I would welcome any ideas. Thank you in advance. 

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Scott Mac
Austin, TX · Member since 2019 · 5k+ posts · 5k+ votes
2y

Maybe print out a list of homeless shelters that are nearby along with printing out a map and handing it to the people you see camped out there . 

And at the same time tell them you're going to be painting the building in a few days they need to be out of there by Wednesday - or something like that . 

Good Luck!

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  • Scott Mac
    Austin, TX · Member since 2019 · 5k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    2y

    Maybe print out a list of homeless shelters that are nearby along with printing out a map and handing it to the people you see camped out there . 

    And at the same time tell them you're going to be painting the building in a few days they need to be out of there by Wednesday - or something like that . 

    Good Luck!

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  • Josh YoungPro Member
    Rental Property Investor / REALTOR® / Property Manager · Gilbert, AZ · Member since 2023 · 384 posts · 421 votes
    2y

    @Andrea Finkelstein

    I would call the police and a tow truck company everyday until the problem is fixed, if people are trespassing and littering that needs to be stopped. You might need to get surveillance cameras to help, but I would stay on it aggressively until you get it under control.

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  • Russell BrazilBusiness Member
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    Real Estate Agent · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2012 · 17k+ posts · 30k+ votes
    2y

    This is a pretty similar problem that is happening across cities in the entire country. If there was a solution, it would have been found.

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  • Melanie P.Pro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Member since 2023 · 1k+ posts · 922 votes
    2y

    A gate timed to close during non-operating hours. Motion activated flood lights and cameras. Private secuirty. 

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  • Seo Hui Han
    Member since 2024 · 41 posts · 28 votes
    2y

    Either you or your tenant has to call the police, tell them that someone is trespassing on your private property, you have asked them to leave but they refuse to leave.  DO NOT SAY that they are homeless or appear to be homeless.  If the dispatcher asks first, "Are they homeless?" you have to answer that you do not know or can't be sure.


    When the police arrive, tell the officers the same thing you told the dispatcher.  Tell them that this is a constant problem and you are at your wits end as to what to do.  If they are good officers, they will suggest to you that you file a temporary restraining order against them.  If they are crappy officers, then bring up the possibility yourself.  What you are trying to do is get the officers to run ID checks on the homeless, because you cannot file a temporary restraining order unless you have their full legal name, and possible date of birth.


    Hopefully, the officer who responds will give you this information.  Once you get it, look up the process for filing a temporary restraining order against that person / those persons, and do it.  The next time the homeless person or persons come, call the police, but this time you say that you have a temporary restraining order on them and they are violating it.  

    This will take time, and you will have to rinse and repeat a few times, but it will work to permanently or at least semi-permanently solve your problem. I guarantee it.  I have a gas station in Los Angeles and it is one of the only gas stations within the city where not a single homeless person is at the pumps or at the door or on the lot asking for change.

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  • Andrea Finkelstein
    OP
    Rental Property Investor · Scottsdale, AZ · Member since 2019 · 34 posts · 9 votes
    2y
    Quote from @Seo Hui Han:

    Either you or your tenant has to call the police, tell them that someone is trespassing on your private property, you have asked them to leave.... 

    Genius. Thank you. Not simple or quick, but definitely a real solution. 
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  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
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    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    2y

    Security cameras that alert you to motion, along with motion-activated floodlights. They pull in, they get lit up, you get notified, and you call the police. It takes some effort up front, but I think it would clean things up pretty quickly.

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