May 2—In early April, Yuba County Code Enforcement abated an abandoned home in Olivehurst, citing the property as unsafe to occupy. However, one resident believes that the presence of squatters contributed to the house’s state of disrepair.

The residence, located in the 4900 block of Olivehurst Avenue, was reportedly left vacant for at least seven years by its owner Becky Salazar. The house was previously occupied by Salazar’s mother who passed away before Salazar took ownership.

According to Nora Stewart, housekeeping manager for Comfort Suites in Linda, Salazar began staying at the motel shortly after her mother’s death while she cleaned out the house. Stewart said that Salazar suffers from dementia, which can cause her to believe that she has only been living at Comfort Suites for a few months rather than several years.

The Appeal reached out to Salazar for comment, but did not receive a response by press time on Thursday.

One witness said that although they did not know Salazar, they drove past her house every few days and saw at least two people occupying the space and “destroying it.”

“All of a sudden, I start seeing people. … The weekend hits, and there’s an old trailer with a camper on top pulled into the driveway and there are two trailers of junk out front. Overnight, they just sprung up. It looked like a homeless camp,” the witness, who wished to remain anonymous, said. “My understanding is that (Salazar) got sick and had to go to the hospital, and in the meantime, squatters broke in.”

Stewart told the Appeal that Salazar was hospitalized nearly two years ago, but has been consistently living at Comfort Suites both before and after that time.

The witness also claimed that the squatters allegedly held a yard sale to sell Salazar’s belongings.

“I got to walk in. There were hypodermic needles everywhere. It was her mother’s house, and she kept saying, ‘They sold my mother’s mahogany bedroom set.’ And they did. They had a yard sale over the weekend,” the witness said. “They just broke in and took over her little house.”

Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned building or area that a person does not rent, own or otherwise have permission to use. Squatting is illegal in California, but squatters are permitted certain rights under the law. For example, a property owner can only evict a squatter after serving a three-day eviction notice.

However, this does not allow anyone to claim ownership of a property just by taking up residency. In order to stake claims to a property through adverse possession, state law mandates that a squatter must occupy the property continuously and openly for at least five years. They must also pay property taxes for that duration. Still, occupying a property for any duration of time without permission is trespassing under California law.

Code Enforcement Manager Jeremy Strang confirmed that a citizen complaint was made regarding property conditions for the house on Olivehurst Avenue. Code Enforcement inspected the property and deemed it unsafe to occupy due to substandard conditions, including electrical hazards, sewage issues and unsafe roofing among other problems. However, Code Enforcement is unable to determine the status of alleged squatters on any property.

“Code Enforcement’s role is to focus on property conditions, and is not the arbiter of who may or may not have a legal right to occupy a property. That is an issue between the property owner and the occupant that may be adjudicated in a civil proceeding,” Strang said.

Yuba County public records indicate that a case was first opened against Salazar’s property on Nov. 8, 2023, citing it as abandoned and unsecured. The case was closed on April 5, but the witness claims that squatters were occupying the property until April 25.

“Code Enforcement is working to provide a more holistic approach to property maintenance and upholding community standards. One example of that is having Sheriff’s deputies assigned to our Code Enforcement team. Because Code Enforcement cases can include elements relating to criminal activity, health and safety, access to resources, and more, the goal is that each team member has a specific duty and can help continue a case forward whichever direction it ends up taking. The desired outcome of this collaborative approach is a cleaner and safer community for our residents,” Strang said.