Squatters take over RV storage lot near Los Angeles

• Cleanup efforts at a luxury RV lot in a city outside Los Angeles began Wednesday after a group of people had been living in the vehicles. While some of the individuals were referred to as squatters, Fox 11 LA spoke with one person who said they paid the property owner $300 a month to rent the RV.
• Since the unhoused community moved into the lot, those who work nearby have reported fires, vandalism, ever-growing piles of trash and other crimes.
• The property manager reportedly received a court order to have the squatters removed and says it will cost $80,000 to clean up the lot.

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Cleanup efforts at a luxury RV lot in a city outside Los Angeles began Wednesday, March 26, after a group of people had been living in the vehicles for roughly two years. While some of the individuals were referred to as “squatters,” one person living in an RV told Fox 11 LA that they were paying the property owner $300 a month to rent it.

A squatter is someone who occupies land or a building without ownership or a lease. This can eventually lead to “adverse possession,” where, after a certain period, the squatter may gain legal ownership—even without the owner’s consent.

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Black Series, the company that owns the RVs, said at least 50 of the campers are currently occupied by squatters. While some RVs have been recovered, other attempts to repossess them were cut short after security teams feared for their safety, Black Series told CBS News.

Meanwhile, the person who manages the property told Fox 11 LA that an individual purchased 130 campers and left them in the lot, adding that they haven’t paid rent in two years.

Witnesses told ABC 7 News LA they’ve seen RVs on fire, vandalism, ever-growing piles of trash and other crimes.

“At night, it’s kinda scary to go to our cars. Every morning, the sheriff’s department drives through the lot, and then they just leave, but they told us they can’t really do anything because it’s abandoned,” the receptionist of a nearby Nissan dealership told Fox11.

The dealership stores some of its inventory in the RV parking lot, and members of the unhoused community have taken to stealing tires and gas from the tanks.

“Homelessness keeps increasing and increasing and increasing since I’ve been living here, and it honestly just comes down to our politicians who are doing nothing about it,” said Khaled Ghrewahti, who works at the dealership. 

Similarly, other people who work nearby and have to walk past the lot tell CBS News LA they fear for their safety and walk in pairs.

“Sometimes it is kind of dark, and we do have to cross over here. It’s like we have to be watching our back, especially us girls,” Marilyn Martinez said.

While the encampment has largely been referred to as a group of squatters, one local meat market employee told Fox 11 LA that the owner of the lot offered to rent him one of the RVs for $300 a month.

“What they’re about to do is put everybody back out on the street, and they don’t care,” Raymond Henderson said. “The city gets so much money to bring in to house these people. They don’t spend the money on that.”

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In the state of California, a squatter may establish tenancy rights after a 30-day period. However, this does not equate to “adverse possession.”

One witness said the ordeal has been going on for eight months, which means the RV company would have to evict the squatters through the courts. Black Series tells CBS News that’s exactly what they’re trying to do.

Fox 11 LA reports that the property owner won a court order to remove the squatters and that cleanup at the site began Wednesday. The property owner estimates it will take roughly two days to evict all of the residents and about $80,000 to clean up the trash.