Grandmother loses $1.5 million after 20 squatters take over her property

A grandmother has revealed she has lost almost $1.5 million after a mass of squatters took over a block of land she owns.

Jean, 81, inherited the parcel in Los Angeles and told CBS News she believed this would be the end of her financial concerns.

However, 20 people in a dozen motorhomes and caravans have moved onto the block with their possessions and cars, and police have told Jean they can’t cut the padlocks on the gate and remove them.

“They are not allowed to, the squatters have rights,” she said.

“I have rights – I get to pay my property taxes and pay for liability insurance.”

Jean told CBS in a special report, Eye on America, that she has spent $US100,000 (about $AU150,800) of her savings to cover legal fees, taxes and lost rent since the strangers took up residence.

She found a buyer who is willing to purchase the block of land with the squatters. However, she had to drop the price by $US800,000 ($AU1.2 million) to ensure a deal.

Jean explained to reporter Carter Evans that she has lost close to $US1 million ($AU1,509,000) all up.

In Australia, a squatter may not be breaking criminal law if they enter a property through an unlocked door. It becomes a civil matter if a landlord or homeowner asks the squatter to leave and they refuse – then, it is trespassing, and they must take the squatter to court.

Claiming ownership of a property after squatting falls under adverse possession laws.

The period of time relating to adverse possession differs from state to state in Australia – 12 years in most and 15 years in Victoria.

Sydney law firm JB Solicitors explains on its website that under adverse possession laws, the original owner loses “their right to maintain the land if it is abandoned for a protracted length of time”.

The firm says that in order for a squatter claim ownership, they must “have been in actual, unrestricted, and continuous physical control of the land for a period of 12 years”, and, “the property was open and unguarded, leading one to believe the claimant was the rightful owner”, among other facts they must establish.