To secure a vacant property in California, change every exterior lock, lock down windows and the garage, and call your insurer in the first week, since many policies restrict coverage after 60 days empty. Then file a notarized trespass letter with local police, keep the house looking lived in, and schedule regular checks.
TLDR
- Change the locks, secure windows and the garage, and photograph every room within the first 48 hours after a California house goes empty.
- California’s standard fire policy lets an insurer deny a loss once a building has been vacant more than 60 consecutive days, so call the insurer before that point.
- A notarized trespass letter under California Penal Code 602(o) lets police remove trespassers without reaching the owner and lasts up to 12 months for an absent owner.
- Squatters almost never win ownership in California, because adverse possession requires five years of occupation plus five years of paid property taxes.
- In the City of Los Angeles, an unsecured vacant building can draw an abatement order and fines of up to $1,000 a day if the owner doesn’t respond.
An empty house doesn’t tell the whole street it’s empty all at once. It happens a little at a time, with mail stacking up by the door, a lawn nobody cuts, and the same porch light burning day and night, and the people who notice first aren’t always the neighbors you’d want noticing.
Most of what protects a vacant house is simple, inexpensive, and done in the first week.
If the house is empty because your mom or dad passed away, walking back in to change the locks can be one of the hardest parts of all this, and it’s okay if it takes you a minute.
Do These Things in the First 48 Hours
The first two days after a house goes empty matter more than any camera you buy later, because keys you don’t know about, an unlatched side window, and a garage remote left in the driveway are how people get in without breaking anything.
- Change or rekey every exterior lock, including the door from the garage into the house, since there’s no telling how many copies are out there.
- Walk every window and sliding door, lock them, and set a wood dowel or security bar in each slider track.
- Unplug the garage door opener or disconnect its motor, and take any remotes out of cars left on the property.
- Take date-stamped photos and video of every room and the yard, so there’s a record of the house’s condition the day it went empty.
- Remove anything valuable or sentimental you can carry, plus prescription medications and paperwork with personal information.
- Call the insurance company and tell them the house is vacant.
- Give one trusted neighbor your phone number and ask them to call you if anything looks off.
A neighbor who knows who to call will catch what no camera does, like the same strange car parked out front every night.
Who Is Responsible for Securing an Inherited House?
The executor or administrator is responsible once the court appoints one. California Probate Code section 9650 requires the personal representative to take all steps reasonably necessary to manage, protect, and preserve the estate’s property, and an empty house sitting in an estate is exactly that kind of property.
Before anyone is appointed, nobody holds that legal role, and families work it out among themselves. One person holds the keys, one person talks to the insurer, and everybody agrees on who’s allowed inside. Put that agreement in a group text so it’s in writing, because it heads off the argument later about who took what. If you’re still figuring out where the estate stands, this overview of how probate works in California covers the court side.
File a Trespass Letter With Your Local Police
A trespass letter lets officers remove someone from your property without first reaching you. Under California Penal Code 602(o), as amended by SB 602 in 2023, an owner can request police help with trespassers on property that isn’t open to the public, and for an absent owner that request can last up to 12 months, or a shorter period if the city sets one by ordinance.
For an owner who lives out of state, this is the step we’d take first.
As of 2026, the request has to be notarized on the law enforcement agency’s own form, and agencies can accept it electronically. File it with whoever patrols the address, which is the LAPD inside the City of Los Angeles and the local sheriff’s station or city police elsewhere in LA County. The letter ends when ownership transfers, so a new owner has to file again. Set a phone reminder for eleven months out, too, because a letter that quietly lapsed does nothing.
Can Squatters Take Ownership of a Vacant House in California?
Squatters almost never gain legal ownership of a house in California. Code of Civil Procedure section 325 requires five continuous years of occupation, and the occupant also has to prove, with certified records from the county tax collector, that they paid every property tax bill on the land for those same five years. Someone living in your parents’ house without permission is very unlikely to be paying its taxes.
The real risk is time and money.
Once people are living inside, getting them out legally usually runs through the courts rather than the locks, and that can take months while the house takes damage. These guides on squatters in Los Angeles and the legal removal process cover that part step by step.
A fire-damaged house in Compton that Mrs. Property Solutions bought had squatters living in it after the fire. Instead of going to court, the occupants were paid to leave, which is called cash for keys, and the house was boarded up immediately after they walked out so nobody else could move in behind them. The sale closed in about two weeks. The part worth remembering is the board-up, because an empty house that was entered once will be tried again.
Your Insurance May Stop Covering an Empty House
A standard policy can refuse to pay for a loss once a house has been empty for more than 60 days. California’s standard fire policy form in Insurance Code section 2071 says the insurer isn’t liable for a loss while a building is vacant or unoccupied beyond 60 consecutive days, unless the policy adds something different in writing.
Many homeowners policies carry their own vacancy language on top of that, with their own limits on vandalism, theft, and water damage, so the only way to know what yours says is to ask. Call the company, say the house is vacant, and ask three things: when coverage changes, which losses stop being covered, and whether they offer a vacancy endorsement or a separate vacant-dwelling policy. Get the answer in an email.
Plenty of families skip this call because they’re afraid the premium will go up, and a higher premium is still cheaper than learning after a break-in that the claim was denied.
Make the House Look Lived-In
A house that looks occupied gets passed over.
Put a few interior lamps on timers set to different times, and put the porch light on a dusk-to-dawn sensor so it isn’t burning at noon. Forward the mail or have it picked up weekly. Keep the yard cut and the trash cans put away, even if that means paying someone to mow, because an overgrown lawn on a trimmed street is the loudest sign there is.
Cameras with phone alerts and motion lights on the side and back yards are worth having, and a visible camera by the front door turns more people away than a hidden one. Leave the blinds half open, the way a lived-in house has them.
Keep the electricity on. It runs the timers, the lights, and the cameras, and it’s what makes the rest of this list work. Many owners shut the water off at the main between visits to limit leak damage, then turn it back on when someone’s at the house.
How Often Should Someone Check on a Vacant House?
Weekly is a sensible minimum, plus a visit after any storm, camera alert, or call from a neighbor. Each visit should include every door and window, a look under the sinks and at the water heater for leaks, the mail, and the yard.
Keep a dated log of every visit, because it’s the thing you’ll wish you had if the insurer or the city ever asks whether the property was being looked after.
If you live out of state, the options are a trusted neighbor, a family friend nearby, or a paid property-check service, and some sheriff’s stations and police departments run free vacation-check programs worth asking about. This guide to managing it from another state covers the rest of doing this from far away.
When the City Says a House Is Unsecured
In the City of Los Angeles, a vacant building that’s open or vandalized can end up in the Department of Building and Safety’s Vacant Building Abatement process. Once the owner receives a Notice of Order to Abate Vacant Structure, they have 30 days to file a Statement of Intent that lays out a plan for weeds, graffiti, debris, and security, along with a timeline for having the house occupied, repaired, or demolished. The same form tells owners of abandoned property to file a trespass arrest authorization with the LAPD. Failing to file and follow through could bring fines of $1,000 per day.
Other cities in LA County have their own rules, and they tend to move the same direction, so the safest approach is keeping the house secured well enough that the city never gets involved. If a house already has open violations, this guide on code violations in Los Angeles explains how they work, and houses with bigger problems are covered in this guide to homes with serious damage.
If You Decide Not to Keep It
Securing a vacant house is ongoing work, and for some families the better answer is renting it, listing it with an agent, or selling it as-is, which this guide to selling a vacant house compares side by side. If the house is in good shape and you have time, listing with an agent will usually bring more money than a cash sale, and Mrs. Property Solutions will tell you that directly.
Doing All of This From a Distance Is a Lot
If you’ve read this far, you’re probably handling all of this on top of everything else an estate asks of you, and maybe from another state.
Mrs. Property Solutions is a local, mom-and-pop cash home buyer based in Pasadena, and we buy houses in the condition they’re in, including houses that have sat empty, been broken into, or still have belongings inside. Since 2016 we’ve purchased 150+ homes across Southern California and earned 50+ five-star reviews, we’re local to LA County, there are no repairs and no commissions, and the offer we make is the offer we honor.
Call us at (626) 344-9579, or read how we buy inherited houses first. Talking to us doesn’t obligate you to anything, and if keeping the house is the better move for your family, we’ll tell you that.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long can a house sit vacant before insurance stops covering it in California?
Sixty consecutive days is the benchmark in California’s standard fire policy under Insurance Code section 2071, after which an insurer can refuse to pay for a loss unless the policy says otherwise in writing. Many homeowners policies add their own vacancy clause, so call your insurer the week the house goes empty and ask what changes.
Can squatters get legal ownership of a vacant house in California?
Almost never. Under Code of Civil Procedure section 325, adverse possession requires five years of continuous occupation plus proof, from county tax collector records, that the occupant paid all property taxes for those five years. The practical risk for a California owner is the time and cost of removing occupants, not losing title.
How long is a trespass letter good for in California?
Up to 12 months for property whose owner is absent, or a shorter period if a local ordinance sets one, under Penal Code 602(o) as amended by SB 602. The letter must be notarized on the law enforcement agency’s own form, and it ends when ownership of the property transfers, so a new owner has to file again.
Who has to secure an inherited house during probate in California?
The court-appointed executor or administrator. California Probate Code section 9650 requires the personal representative to take all steps reasonably necessary to manage, protect, and preserve estate property, which includes an empty house. Before anyone is appointed, family members usually coordinate keys, insurance, and basic security among themselves until the court acts.
Should I turn off the utilities in a vacant house?
Keep the electricity on and consider shutting off the water. Electricity powers the timers, lights, and cameras that make a vacant house look watched. Many owners close the water main between visits to limit leak damage, then turn it back on when someone is at the property for a check or a showing.
What happens if Los Angeles decides a vacant house is unsecured?
The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety can issue a Notice of Order to Abate Vacant Structure. The owner then has 30 days to file a Statement of Intent with a maintenance and security plan, and failing to file and follow through could bring fines of $1,000 per day. Other LA County cities have their own rules.
How often should someone check on a vacant house?
Weekly is a sensible minimum for a vacant house in California, plus a visit after any storm, camera alert, or call from a neighbor. Each check should cover doors, windows, leaks, mail, and the yard, and a dated log of every visit helps if an insurer or the city asks how the property was maintained.
What if I decide I don’t want to keep the vacant property?
Renting, listing with an agent, and selling as-is to a cash buyer are the three usual paths, and each fits a different timeline and condition. Listing usually brings the highest price for a house in good shape. Mrs. Property Solutions buys vacant houses as-is and can close in as fast as 14 days in most transactions.
Disclaimer:This article explains how securing a vacant property generally works in California. It isn’t legal or insurance advice, and rules vary by city, county, and policy. Talk to a probate attorney about estate property and to your insurance agent about your coverage.
Helpful Resources
- Selling a house that needs too many repairs in California
- Selling without a realtor
- Should You Fix Code Violations Before Selling?
- How to Sell a House With Major Repairs Needed in California
- Can You Sell a House With Foundation Problems in California?
- Should You Fix a Leaking Roof Before Selling?