1. Establish authority
Keep ownership records, management authority, emergency contacts, and property records where you can find them.
Property protection
Protect my property
General property-protection guidance — not legal advice or a guide to confronting occupants. If someone is already there, start with I have a problem.
2. Control access
Know who has keys, codes, remotes, and other access credentials. Update the list when people leave the property or the team.
3. Document vacancy
Dated photographs, inspection notes, condition reports, utility information, and access records help show how the property was left.
4. Monitor property
Lawful general practices can include inspections, lighting, cameras, signage, and neighbor or manager awareness. This is not a guide to surveillance tactics.
5. Maintain property
Unmanaged vacant property can create operational risk: deferred repairs, unclear access, and gaps in the record of who was authorized to be there.
6. Response planning
Who manages the property? Who may access it? Who should be contacted if someone is found there? Where are ownership records? Who is the appropriate professional contact?
Lease and occupancy provisions
Vacancy hygiene is one layer. Written occupancy terms are another. These are general records and drafting topics — not legal advice, and not a guide to removing anyone.
- Written agreements. Informal or oral arrangements can leave the facts harder to reconstruct later. A dated writing that names who may occupy the property is usually more useful than a handshake.
- Occupancy clauses. Who is authorized to live there, and who is not, belongs in the agreement — not only in a text thread.
- Guest vs occupant. How long a guest may stay, and when someone must be added to the agreement, is a fact pattern courts and professionals often examine.
- Subletting and short-term stays. If subletting or platform bookings are prohibited, or allowed only through a defined process, say so in writing. See short-term rental protection.
After possession is restored, unsupervised access to retrieve belongings can create additional damage risk. Document who may enter, when, and whether someone is present.
Keep it occupied
Leasing or professional property management can reduce the operational risks associated with unmanaged vacant property.
Learn about property-management options →Professional help
If the property is occupied, title is unclear, or an estate is involved, a licensed attorney can evaluate the facts. This site does not provide that evaluation.
Find professional helpLooking to sell or transfer the property? See property services.