Kentucky homeowner faces legal battle after alleged friends become squatters

A Kentucky homeowner claims he was left homeless after a judge sided with his friends-turned-squatters who stayed in his garage for months and obtained a court order to force him off the property.

Daniel Toma offered to help his friend, Amy Davis, and her boyfriend, Tyler Sencuk, stay in the garage of his Valley Station home in Louisville over the summer when the couple’s car broke down, according to WAVE.

Toma said Sencuk was in his driveway “working on the car for days,” seemingly to no avail. “I didn’t want to throw them out on the street; I was just trying to be kind,” Toma told the outlet.

He then noticed the couple had laid out a mattress in his garage and were quickly making themselves at home. The couple allegedly changed the garage lock, had Spectrum install cable, and started getting mail sent to his address, all while living rent-free.

With no lease agreement and overstaying their welcome, Toma said he enlisted the help of his roommates to get them out of his house, but “they wouldn’t leave.” “We tried to tell them to leave. He started saying (they) had squatters rights,” Toma shared.

Around Labor Day, Toma posted a 30-day eviction notice hoping to scare them off. However, Sencuk allegedly got into an altercation with Toma’s roommate soon after the notice was posted, which escalated into blows between the two. Sencuk filed an emergency protective order against Toma.

Sencuk wrote in an email to WAVE that he allegedly had an agreement with Toma to perform maintenance around the home and that he and Davis would be allowed to stay at the home for his services. Toma denies ever coming to such an agreement with his “friend” and her boyfriend. “The bills are in my name. I need to take care of things, and I want to sleep in my own bed too,” Toma told the outlet.

According to Kentucky Revised Statutes Chapter 383.560, it is legal for squatters to stay on a property as long as the owner has not expressed that they are not welcome. To remove squatters legally, a property owner must file a formal eviction with the court.

Fortunately for Toma, Sencuk has since moved out. It is unclear if Davis has moved out with him. However, Toma is left dealing with the protective order against him and is due in court this week to challenge it.