[brittmiss1]

I have people that moved into my duplex without my approval, they have changed the locks and showed the police a torn off piece of paper they said I signed as a lease, which is not my signature. Now they are also occupying the second floor of my duplex too. The cops won't do anything, what are my rights to get these squatters out of there?

[JudyKayTee]

I have no idea how all of this happened without your knowledge BUT whether they pay rent or not they are legally your tenants and must be legally evicted according to NJ law - I am posting the link because you need to understand the process.

Guidelines for New Jersey Residential Eviction

[ScottGem]

Do you know how long they have been there?

In this case, unless they can prove that you did sign a lease with them, then they are trespassers. I will disagree with Judy here. Normally, the safe bet is to go through the legal eviction process, but I wouldn't do that here, because that acknowledges that they are tenants. I would pressure the police on this. Tell them these people are thieves stealing the use of your property.

This site may help:
2C:18-3 Defiant Trespass, Trespassing, Trespassor

I assume you have informed these people that are trespassers and do not belong. Plus you should have the police report if you called the police. Show them the statutes listed in the link and demand that they remove these people.

[JudyKayTee]

Hate to disagree Scott but when the "squatters" showed the Police a Lease (or something) it become a civil matter, not a criminal matter. I don't see the Police sorting this out, attempting to determine which side is telling the truth.

Hopefully OP will post more info to clarify the situation. It's unclear to me how these people managed to change the locks and move in, now they also moved in upstairs, without OP's knowledge.

I'm not certain that these aren't people somehow "related" to a relative of OP, for example, girlfriend, boyfriend, who knows.

Just my spidey sense speaking, no basis in fact.

[ScottGem]

Forging a document (in this case a lease) is also a criminal offense. All the OP has to do is deny that the alleged lease is something they signed.

I think what should happen here is the trespassers should be arrested. But the OP should not take possession until a court can rule on the validity of the alleged lease.

But I am basing my response solely on what the OP has told us. I do think there is more to this story that might cause me to change my recommendation.

[JudyKayTee]

Understood and this also varies from area to area - in my area if confronted with a "forged" document (mostly involving custody, visitation agreements) the Police decline and send you to the Courthouse.

I believe OP could file a Motion to Show Cause why these people should not IMMEDIATELY be thrown out on their... behinds, stating that there could and probably will be substantial damage.

Of course, I've evicted people who paid rent and they tore the place up, too. No way to know.

[Fr_Chuck]

If they broke in and started living in a empty house without permission, they are not squatters ( hate that term) they are tresspassors and have broke and entered.

If you do not know them, if no one that you ever rented to, allowed them to live there. It is indeed a criminal issue ( at least here in GA.)

Now if they rented from a person who did fraud, that is another issue

It is happening more and more here in Atlanta, a person finds empty houses, puts out rental adds on the homes. He breaks the lock, puts on new ones, and get deposits and rental on the property.

I would be in the DA's office at 8 in the morning to see why they will not do anything.

And at 10 I would be in my attorneys office filing for a eviction for non payment of rents ( since they have not paid you)

[ScottGem]

If they broke in and started living in a empty house without permission, they are not squatters ( hate that term) they are tresspassors and have broke and entered.

That's what I was thinking. According to what we have been told so far, these people just moved in without the OP's knowledge. The assumption is that they broke in.

However, I did forget about the possibility that someone rented to them claiming to have the right. The "torn off piece of paper" doesn't make one think of that. A rental fraud would try to maker everything look legal with a formal lease.