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Forcing out someone from your property

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Dániel Boros

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I have a few questions:

Is it alright to force someone out of a property if they entered unlawfully?

Is it alright to force them out if they entered lawfully but refuse to leave when the property owner asks them to do so?

(By force I mean threat of force or physical force.)

 

If someone is denied access to his own property by his neighbor what is the proper thing to do for the owner and for the police?

Do they need to go to curt or can the police just go in and kick out the person staying there illegally?

 

I'm interested in what is right and also what is currently legal (in the U.S. or elsewhere).

 

Thank you in advance.

Edited by Dániel Boros
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Your questions fall under the heading of property rights, which may vary from state to state. Are these problems between landlord and tenant(s)? Does the person in question have to cross someone else' properties to access his property? In tenant leases, most have a clause regarding sub-leasing. Someone not originally approved to live on a rental property may be either subject to a background check, or the authorities may be used to remove the trespasser. Again, the law in your state may vary.

 

Edit: I noticed you live in Hungary. Your laws may very definitely be different from US laws. The short and direct answer to your question is: yes. There are legal means to have someone removed from your property, even if they are there by invitation and present no violation of the law, in the USA. If the courts (or police officer) qualify the person or persons as trespasser(s), they go.

Edited by Repairman
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I went to a disco once and there was one guy who vomited on stage. He was (forcibly) escorted out by the security. Would you say that would be illegal in the U.S. ?

Also how can a cop determine if someone is trespassing? I mean if someone actually lives in my house and has a key (for whatever reason) than the cop wouldn't know who really owns the house. Is that when the courts need to decide who should go and who should stay?

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These are legal questions, and I'm not a lawyer, but I'll offer my own understandings.

 

In any of the cases you describe you'd be prudent to get the police to help you rather than try it yourself.

 

If a tresspasser poses is an imminent threat you'd be within your rights to remove him coercively.  Otherwise, perhaps not; he might be able to sue you.  Same with the guest who refuses to leave.  The police could easily determine who really lives there: ask to see a driver's license; look on the mailbox; ask to see some mail addressed to the real resident; and so on.  If a tenant has gotten behind on the rent or if his lease up and he refuses to move, and you want to evict him, you need a court order.  I'm not sure how it would work with a squatter, but if he'd been living there for some months you might need a court order there, too.

 

If somebody is disorderly, as in your club example (drunk or not), you can remove him forcibly.  Bars of a certain class hire bouncers for just this job.  Here, again, you might face a lawsuit if you injure him.  He might even sue you if you don't.  Record it on your cellphone camera and take the names of witnesses.

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