‘Serial Squatter’ Sentenced to 20 Years After Refusing to Pay Rent at Dozens of Homes for 25 Years

A woman known as a “serial squatter” is finally facing justice after 25 years of allegedly defrauding multiple landlords out of rent money.

Heather Ruybal was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Dallas, Texas, after being convicted of fraud earlier this year, according to Denver7. The outlet notes that court records show she was evicted dozens of times over the past 25 years and avoided paying rent at the properties she lived in.

She was taken into custody after she was convicted in July of fraud in a 2023 case in which she used her father’s name to apply to rent a home, even signing for him. She never paid rent for the home the entire time she lived there — and it was not her first time running such a scam.

“This is what she did for a living, moved into individuals’ homes knowing that she wasn’t going to pay rent and then exploited the eviction process in order to stay there for several more months,” Dallas County Assistant District Attorney Amber Moore told Denver7.

Ruybal was also ordered to pay $40,000 in restitution to the victim, Jessica Davis, who lost the home she was renting to Ruybal because she was unable to make payments due to the lost rent income.

CBS News Texas, which reported on Ruybal for years, said local attorneys throughout Texas and Colorado knew of her as the “serial squatter” and often noted she knew the eviction process for tenants better than some lawyers.

In addition to defrauding landlords of thousands in rent money, she was also known to leave the homes in disarray when she finally left. Some reported bottles and smells of urine, discarded cigarettes and unauthorized, half-finished paint jobs.

Moore told Denver7 that her previous criminal history played a factor in her sentencing, noting that it increased her maximum from 10 to 20 years. Moore believes she’ll serve at least five years before she’s eligible for parole.