Squatter Removal in Palm Springs, CA - 951 Evictions

Squatter Removal in Palm Springs, CA: Seasonal Homes Left Empty

A large share of Palm Springs homes and condos are occupied only part of the year. From late spring through early fall, many sit closed, and that is when unauthorized occupants move in. 951 Evictions handles squatter removals for seasonal owners, most of whom are managing the problem from another city or state.

Call or text (951) 580-0388 when a neighbor, manager or camera alerts you.

Summer Vacancy

An unoccupied house with the air conditioning off and mail piling up is easy to spot. Arrange regular checks while you are away, keep exterior cameras active, and let the HOA or a neighbor know how to reach you. File a trespass authorization with the Palm Springs Police Department before you leave for the season. It can cover up to 12 months and tells officers that no one is permitted on the property in your absence.

Not Every Overstayer Is a Squatter

A vacation-rental guest who will not leave, or a seasonal tenant who stayed past the lease, came in with permission. Those are handled with tenant-type notices, and the city’s rental rules may apply. A person who entered a closed home with no permission is a trespasser. Tell us which you have.

Court and Lockout

When police decline to act, we serve a written demand and file a possession case at the Palm Springs Courthouse on Tahquitz Canyon Way, which hears these cases for the entire Coachella Valley. Occupants have 10 court days to respond after service. After judgment, the Riverside County Sheriff posts a five-day notice to vacate and performs the lockout. You do not need to fly in, but someone authorized by you has to meet the deputy.

Condos and Gated Communities

In a condo complex, the management company and neighbors are your early-warning system. Give the manager a current phone number and email, tell them the dates you will be away, and make clear in writing that nobody is authorized to use the unit. Ask that gate codes and key fobs issued to former tenants, cleaners or contractors be cancelled. Many occupancies begin with someone who once had legitimate access.

Former Vacation-Rental Guests and Cleaners

A person who rented your home for a week last season, or who serviced it, knows it sits empty in summer and may still have a door code. Change codes after every stay and at the end of each season. If one of them is now living there, how they came to have access matters. Someone who simply let themselves in is a trespasser. Someone whose paid stay never ended is treated as a holdover.

Coming Back for the Season

If you arrive to find your home occupied, do not go in. Call the Palm Springs Police Department from outside, show identification and proof of ownership, and let officers make contact. If they will not remove the occupants, call us from the driveway. A demand can be served that day.

Summer Damage

An occupied, closed-up house in desert heat suffers quickly: a failed air conditioner, a green pool, pests. Photograph everything on the day of the lockout for your insurer, and check whether your policy limits coverage for a home left vacant beyond a set number of days.

Palm Springs Squatter Questions

The house sitter I hired moved friends in and now none of them will leave. What are they?

The sitter’s right to be there ended with the job. The friends came in under the sitter. Both are removed with a written notice and, if needed, a court case naming everyone.

Will my HOA remove them?

No. An association can restrict amenities and gate access for non-residents, but only a court judgment enforced by the sheriff removes someone from a home.

Can I stay in my own guest house while they are in the main house?

Sharing a property with hostile occupants is risky. Stay elsewhere and let the process run.

The occupant claims to be a tenant of my former property manager. How do I check?

Ask the manager for the file. If the manager signed a lease while authorized, you may have a tenant, and Palm Springs rental rules would apply.

Related Services in Palm Springs

On ending a regular tenancy here, see What Counts as “Just Cause” for Eviction in Palm Springs, CA? For tenants who had a lease, see our page on eviction services in Palm Springs. Once the property is back in your hands, our sister company Canyon Coast Cleanouts handles junk removal in Palm Springs at (949) 416-1678.

Start the Palm Springs Removal Process Today

Tell us when the home was last occupied and how the people got in, and we will take it from there.

(951) 580-0388

Call or text 24/7.

This page is general information for property owners, not legal advice for a specific case. Court filing location checked against the court’s published list in November 2026.