ANTELOPE, Calif. — One home was destroyed was destroyed after a Wednesday morning fire. Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District is investigating the incident as arson.
It happened on Country Run Way around 10 a.m. The Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District says it started in the garage, took over the house and then spread to a neighboring home, displacing both homeowners.
The Sacramento Sheriff’s Office confirms the people living at the home were squatting.
ABC10 spoke with the son of the homeowner who says they took legal action, trying to evict the residents but they remained in the home.
“I asked the question, how many times does this have to happen?” Barry Mathis questioned, a property manager based out of Roseville. “This was a great little house in Antelope.”
Mathis says this incident would not have happened if the California government did not pick sides. Mathis says laws passed by state lawmakers have caused a so-called squatting problem and says it can take months to evict someone.
While squatting is illegal, Mathis says squatters take up vacant homes and refuse to leave. The system became vulnerable during COVID-19 when laws protected tenants from being evicted and delayed the process of evicting squatters.
“Once you go into that eviction process, it would work OK, as long as the courts were able to keep up,” said Mathis.
Mathis says the courts are underfunded. He says the people can change these laws that are fair for the tenants and homeowners renting out their property.
He pointed to Florida, where it recently passed a law that now classifies squatting as criminal trespassing.
“If they do not belong in the house, get them out,” said Mathis. “If they have a lease that is written on a Christmas card, that is probably not legit. And I think the average street cop can figure that out.”
Mathis believes this will make some people think twice about whether they want to invest in a second home to rent.
He urges rental owners to keep an eye on the property regularly, make sure locks are secured and if someone is not leaving, get professional help.
For more California coverage, stream ABC10+ on your TV for free:
► Roku - click here
► Amazon Fire - click here
► Apple TV - click here
WATCH ALSO:
Serial squatters: Couple has lived rent-free for years, despite being evicted from more than 8 homes
