An Airbnb host is warning property owners to fight back after squatters took over a home on her ranch and demanded $30,000 to leave, prompting her to hire a company that specializes in removing squatters.
“The whole situation just crushed me. I reached a point where I had no idea what to do and felt extremely helpless and beyond frustrated,” said Grace Young in an interview on her property in the unincorporated El Cajon, located in Southern California.
Young said the nightmare started in June after an Airbnb guest — who she says broke house rules by having several unapproved visitors, bringing dogs and violating the sound curfew — checked out after being booted from the online vacation rental platform.
'It's a civil matter'
The day after the guest left her home, Young said three squatters moved in and damaged her home during their takeover.
“They manufactured some narrative that they had had the right to be in the home because an Airbnb guest had given them that permission, had rented to them,” she said.
Young called the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office for help and said the response she got floored her.
“A junior officer came over. I was on the speakerphone and said, ‘OK, well, we’re letting them go. It’s a civil matter.’”
After deputies left, Young said the squatters put up notices in the windows of Young’s home titled "Notice of Tenant Rights and Requirement for Lawful Entry" and demanded $30,000 to leave.
“Dear Grace Young, please be advised that as of our continuous occupancy of the property … since early April 2026, we have established legal tenancy under California law. Because our stay has exceeded 30 consecutive days, we are no longer considered transient guests or short-term lodgers. We are now legally classified as month-to-month tenants and are protected by California landlord-tenant laws,” the notice said.
The letter went on to tell Young she couldn’t legally force the squatters to vacate the premises or lock them out.
“A landlord must follow the formal, legal eviction process to remove a tenant, which requires proper written notice (typically a 30-day or 60-day notice),” the paper said.
Feeling like she had nowhere to turn while also losing rental income, Young then hired the Squatter Squad, a group that specializes in removing squatters.
“Ninety percent of our squatters have the most entitled attitude, and they were basically telling her, ‘We know our rights,’” said Kimrey Kotchick, who runs the company with founder Lando Thomas.
Kotchick said he believes the Airbnb guest who was kicked out of Young’s home gave the rental home's security code to the squatters who moved in.
“I think it was retaliation against Grace because he was mad at her for kicking him out.”
The professional squatter removers told the Scripps News Group in San Diego they get several calls a day from desperate homeowners in Southern California.
“We've had other cases in San Diego where a senior had to leave his property for medical reasons. He's in his 80s; he's gonna be in the hospital for about a month and rehabilitation. Meanwhile, squatters swooped right into his home. His Porsche is missing. All of his belongings were being sold at a yard sale by the squatters.”
Being told “it’s a civil matter” is what happens 95% of the time when homeowners call police, Thomas said.
Tips for homeowners
“When you have law enforcement show up, and you’ve got the property owner and the unlawful occupant /squatter going back and forth, law enforcement will say, ‘I can’t be the judge and jury. This has to go to civil court.’”
He said property owners can protect themselves by keeping a notarized copy of their deed, installing solar-powered security cameras and never letting their homes appear vacant.
“They will drive around when the weeds start to grow up and the lights are off. There's telltale signs.”
After being hired by Young, the Squatter Squad, which also works with a professional bounty hunter, put together a plan to get the trespassers out.
They gathered notarized documents, court records and other evidence and had Young return to the sheriff’s office to ask for help. This time it worked.
Twenty days after they moved in, detectives arrested the two remaining squatters, Kevin Barlow and Amanda Hopkins, on charges of burglary related to utility theft.
Court records reviewed by the Scripps News Group in San Diego show both have multiple detainer cases on their records. Neither returned requests for comment.
“I think that Captain Navarro and his team did an excellent job. In less than a business day, they put a plan together, came up with a search warrant, and had feet on the ground out here. Ten or 11 officers.”
The Scripps News Group in San Diego asked Airbnb to explain what it does to protect hosts from squatters and if there’s a way for hosts to recoup costs for lost rent and damages.
The company’s spokesperson, Ruthie Kongo, responded by telling us that when Young’s property was occupied by the trespassers, it was not operating as an Airbnb reservation.
“The squatters were in no way associated with Airbnb,” she said in an email.
Back at her ranch, Young said she’s increased security and said she hopes other property owners can learn from her experience.
“We've got to begin to switch it, turn the dial, to where every time a situation like this happens, it doesn't just go, ‘Civil court, it's going to take you months and years, too bad for you,’ and go on to the next."
This story was originally published by Austin Grabish with the Scripps News Group in San Diego.
