The family who went on holiday to find someone else had seized their home

Photo: WLWT

The family left town to visit a dying relative, but while they were away, a man called Robert Carr changed the locks and emptied the home.

When the family came back, he presented them with legal paperwork that had been filed with County Court. The document, called a "quiet title", entitles someone to ownership of a home if the previous owners had left the house abandoned.

Upon researching the subject, Karin Johnson of WLWT found that Carr had filed 11 other claims under the same law.

"When you abandon a property and don't want anything to do with it, somebody can come in and take it," Carr told WLWT. "I have a team of people who go out and I say make sure the house is empty. If it's empty, Change the locks," he added. "Anybody can do it."

The case is currently being fought in court.