Homeowner finds squatter living on front lawn after moving belongings onto property & has no power to move her

A HOMEOWNER was shocked to find a squatter living on her front lawn.

Heidi Withers moved all her belongings onto Fiona's garden after she was evicted from a neighbouring property three weeks ago - and she has no power to move her.

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A homeowner woke up to find a squatter living on her front lawnCredit: Nine

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Heidi Withers moved everything she owns onto Fiona's garden without her permissionCredit: Nine

Now hairdresser Fiona faces a breach of contract for having someone camping outside her home in Melton, Melbourne, Australia.

Fiona told A Current Affair: "It's not just a mattress or a bed. It's everything.

"It's fridges, it's a couch and god knows what else, all her things are all out there.

"She's camping there. She's essentially squatting outside my unit.

"It's my place, I am the owner. You would think that I have a say as to who stays there."

But because Fiona doesn't actually live on the property, she has been told by police there is nothing she can do to get Heidi moved on.

"He said, 'you really don't have a leg to stand on. You can't do anything, you can't evict her for trespassing'," she said.

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Hairdresser Fiona said police told her she can't evict Heidi for trespassingCredit: Nine

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Heidi lives with two others in the homemade campsiteCredit: Nine

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Heidi Withers was evicted three weeks ago from a neighbouring propertyCredit: Nine

Fiona now faces the prospect of evicting a tenant paying rent in her flat so Heidi is forced to seek residence elsewhere.

She said: "I don't want to evict him. But I do want to evict Heidi from my property. She's not welcome there.

"I certainly don't want anyone to be homeless, but I need something to happen.

"If she's got nowhere to go, I'm sure a shelter will help her. There's got to be help out there."

Heidi has two other people living with her at the make-shift campsite said her decision was a "spur of the moment" thingShe also said she "didn't really ask" if she could move everything she owned to a stranger's front lawn.

Leah Calnan, the president of the Real Estate Institute of Victoria, said more needs to be done to protect landlords.

"The legislation currently at the moment is certainly weighed more to the tenant than it is to the landlord," she said.

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Fiona was surprised to discover the campsite on her front lawn.