Imagine finding a man had been living in your basement storage room for several days, using your cat’s litter box as a bathroom and going through your personal papers. This horrifying nightmare was a reality for Zeb Pischnotte, a Salt Lake City homeowner who discovered a man had spent several days undetected in his house.
“I’m lucky that this person wasn’t a vicious serial killer and that he didn’t come and throttle us in the middle of our sleep,” Pischnotte told KSL TV 5.
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Still, what did happen was scary enough. Here’s how the squatter ended up in Pischnotte’s home — and some helpful tips to help you avoid the same fate.
A kicked in door during a storm leads to an unwanted tenant
According to Pischnotte, the intruder most likely got into the house by kicking in a door during a March storm. After they got into the property, the person stole Pischnotte’s gold ring, his college letterman jacket and his grandfather’s cufflinks, which Pischnotte is upset about because of the history. “It’s just a connection to him that, you know, doesn’t exist anymore,” he told reporters.
Pischnotte called the police following the burglary and the police searched his home, but found no one inside. While he initially thought that was the end of it, he began to experience some strange things that convinced him otherwise.
Finally, he knew something was up when his cat Ziggy started meowing at the laundry door. The door was closed — which was unusual because Ziggy’s litter box was kept there. Pischnotte also discovered some of his wine bottles were out. When his housemate said he hadn’t done it, the two decided to investigate.
They armed themselves with a ski, went to the basement laundry room and opened up the storage room door. That’s where they found human waste, a filthy fleece and some of Pischnotte’s personal paperwork that had been pulled out, including old newspaper clippings and medical records.
“This person was either very bored or very intent on trying to get my identity,” Pischnotte said. The intruder was likely living in the property for four days, and the whole experience has left him rattled.
“It just shattered the peace of mind that I have. This feels like a very safe neighborhood,” Pischnotte said.
He’s still hoping to recover the stolen items, though, so he’s sharing pictures online and with the media with the goal of someone seeing the items and contacting him. He also has a message for the intruder to share as well.
“I don’t know why you thought you had to destroy property and steal things in order to make ends meet. There are a lot of resources out there for homeless people, and I would really encourage you to look at those and take advantage of them. Heck, if you had just asked me for a coat or a blanket, I might have provided you one,” Pischnotte said.
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How to protect yourself from squatters
Pischnotte’s situation is an unusual one because the intruder came in and began living in the home while he (and his housemate) were also living there. However, it’s unfortunately not all that uncommon for unwelcome guests to just let themselves in. In most cases, however, it’s vacation homes and empty properties that are the target.
When individuals come in and occupy properties without the consent of the owner, it’s referred to as “squatting.” Unfortunately, a report from Pacific Legal Foundation revealed a significant increase in squatting incidents since 2019.
Atlanta, Dallas and Orlando have especially high levels of squatters, while case counts also showed a sharp increase of cases in Georgia where squatting incidents jumped from from three in 2017 to 198 in 2023. Cases also rose in New York where the number of squatting cases increased from 9 in 2020 and 2021 to 62 in 2022. These case counts likely underestimate the true scope of the problem too, as not every court reports every case.
Unfortunately, when squatters come into homes — and especially unoccupied ones — it can be harder than you’d think to get them out. Many state governments treat the removal of squatters as a landlord/tenant issue and require a formal eviction in civil court. This can take months or even years to happen. Law enforcement officials are also reluctant to get involved since it’s too hard to tell a squatting case from a routine landlord/tenant dispute.
Because of this, Pacific Legal Foundation says it can take two years to evict squatters in Tennessee, while it can cost between $3,000 and $10,000 to get squatter cases through the courts in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Squatters can also damage homes and run up large utility bills.
Some states are moving to change the rules to make removal easier and treat squatting as a civil offense, but it’s still best to try to avoid this situation in the first place. The good news is, there are ways to protect against squatters including:
- Securing all entry points to the home using tools like alarm systems and security cameras
- Having your property regularly inspected if you’re not personally living there or visiting often
- Making unoccupied properties appear occupied by using timers and automation tools to turn on lights
- Placing no trespassing signs in prominent places to make taking legal action easier
If you can keep your home secure using these techniques, which work for both occupied and empty homes, you can hopefully avoid finding yourself with a surprise guest intruding on your most private space like Pischnotte sadly experienced.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
