(NewsNation) — The recent case of police escorting a woman out of a Los Angeles Airbnb guesthouse where she squatted for a year and a half without paying rent serves to highlight the issue of squatting laws.

Squatting is generally defined as inhabiting a building or piece of land where a person doesn’t have the legal right to be there.

Unlike trespassers — who break into a piece of property through some form of illegal entry — squatters do generally have some rights. Those rights differ in each state.

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In California, where the Los Angeles case occurred, someone can claim the title to a piece of property thanks to the state’s adverse possession laws. In that state, the person has to be continuously residing on a piece of property for five years to do that.

But some states, the amount of time before someone can use an adverse possession law requires someone to stay on a piece of property much longer. In New Jersey and Louisiana, it takes 30 years.

If you’re a landlord who does have a tenant who is refusing to leave, your best bet is to file a lawsuit. If a judge rules in your favor, a judge will order police to evict the tenant from your property.