BEAUMONT — An alleged squatter attempting to take ownership of a Beaumont home says he is legally attempting to take ownership of the home.
Billy Hays spoke with 12News again Wednesday and says he's not squatting, but using "Adverse Possession" to live in the home at 2346 Fillmore Street.
Squatting is "Unlawfully occupying an uninhabited building or settling on a piece of land."
"Adverse Possession" is legal if certain conditions are met.
According to Jefferson County District Attorney Bob Wortham, four requirements must be met before someone could take possession of a property using this doctrine.
1) The person must pay all back taxes ($11,000 in this case)
2) The person must pay the property taxes for 10 consecutive years
3) The person must give notice that they are claiming the property (either with signage on/outside the home or by working with the district clerk to give public notice.
4) After meeting these requirements for ten years, the person can then ask a judge to grant them the property.
Hays moved into the vacant home on September 6 and paid $15 toward the back taxes on the property.
"Anyone can make a voluntary payment of property taxes on a property," says Allison Getz, Jefferson County tax assessor.
"However, that does not mean that they have any ownership interest in that property," she said.
Hays told 12News that he planned to make a $200 monthly payment toward the back taxes in an effort to grab ownership of the home.
The house has been vacant for years after the the person living in it passed away.
Wortham tells us the owner of the house can file a complaint and remove him if Hays indeed broke into it.
Wortham says "If the owner were to file a complaint, they would have to file a "Forcible Entry and Detainer" to get them off the property."
In an off camera conversation with a 12News on Wednesday, Hays said the home was in worse condition than it is now and that the front door was not even on its hinges.
Hays added that he had been trying to clean it up for he and his wife to live in.
The home does have utilities, but the water bill isn't under Hays' name.
Because the home has utilities and seems to not present a hazard to the community, the city's hands are tied.
"I don't know of anything that the the city can do," says Jefferson County lawyer Quentin Price. "It doesn't create a health hazard."
Hays also says he didn't want trouble with the neighbors when he decided to move in.
While he admits to being a registered sex offender, Hays says he's not a predator and has no intentions of harming children in the area.
Jefferson County issued a judgment on the house in June 2017 due to the $11,000 in back taxes.
The house will be up for auction on January 8, 2019, and will go to the highest bidder.
The owner of the home can still claim the property before then, if the owner works with the tax office.
"She can come to our office and pay taxes on the delinquent portion," says Getz. "We have a judgment on the property. If she comes into the office and enters into a payment agreement with a substantial down payment, then we can work with her on re-establishing her ability to keep that house."
Hays told 12News that he intends to leave the property on Monday with his wife, who is bed-ridden and has health issues.
Hays says the negative treatment they've received from neighbors isn't helping her condition, so if they aren't wanted he tells us they'll just leave.