Securing a house without legal right to the house

[Michael Norris]

Hello,

There is a Beaufort County, SC property that is abandoned and may have some squatters living in the property. We have no legal documents or rights to the property. 

Do we have any right or ability to secure the house with locks? Could the police help to secure the house? 

@Dean St hillaire

[Matt Devincenzo]

What is the premise behind your right to do so? You asked if you have a right, so what is your basis for that question?

The most likely answer is No, you have no right to trespass and secure the property. As far as what you can do is reach out to the property owner, and/or code enforcement. The CE can secure the property, or at least start a case where the owner gets notified ect. Once that is done the owner could provide the police the ability to enforce the trespass (they usually require a letter of agency or something similar).

Caveat to the above; Adverse possession is when you trespass until a time that the trespass is perfected into ownership. There are specific rules surrounding it, but the first step is to trespass....so you could just go secure the property and not worry about if it is 'right'....