An Alberta landlord is hoping a judge will help him evict a former tenant who has claimed squatter’s rights in the driveway of his rental property.

Ivan Negrych says Bob Cox has ignored his eviction notice and is refusing to move out of a small shack that sits on a flatbed trailer in the driveway of Negrych’s rental home, in Cardston, Alta. Cox has been living on the property without Negrych’s permission for the last month, and has not paid rent or utilities.

“He knows what his rights are, he knows what he wants and he’s focused on not having to pay for anything,” a frustrated Negrych told CTV Lethbridge on Tuesday.

Cox says he moved onto the property a year-and-a-half ago, to be close to his former common-law wife, who lived in the house at the time. Cox built the small shack in the driveway so he could stay nearby, but he didn’t leave when she moved out on Sept. 30.

He says he hasn’t moved because he doesn’t have a vehicle to move the trailer on which his shack is built, and because he has more than $1,200 in unpaid photo radar tickets.

“There’s a few other issues that I have concerns about, that I can voice maybe later in court, or maybe we can resolve it before it even goes to court,” he told CTV Edmonton.

Negrych says he called police to help him remove Cox, but Cox stood his ground and told police: “You can’t touch me.”

“They couldn’t do nothing,” Negrych said.

Negrych says he spent $127 to serve Cox an affidavit so the issue can be resolved in court next week.

“He looked at it and he says, ‘Perfect, this is what I’ve been looking for. I can stay here now until Nov. 7 legally,’” Negrych recalled from his conversation with Cox.

Cox said he hopes to move soon, but is not ready to do so yet.

“I don’t want to be in Ivan’s way,” he said.

With files from CTV Lethbridge