Lets start with the definition of property, Property is any physical or virtual entity that is owned by an individual or jointly by a group of individuals. An owner of property has the right to consume, sell, rent, mortgage, transfer and exchange his or her property. Important widely-recognized types of property include real property (land), personal property(other physical possessions), and intellectual property (rights over artistic creations, inventions, etc.), although the latter is not always as widely recognized or enforced.
What the former Batman star did in this movie was he just moved in without paying rent or security posit. Of course he is a con artist. He and changes the locks on all the doors. In short order, Hayes causes the Goodmans all sorts of trouble through scare tactics, verbal baiting and turning his own apartment into a dark cockroach-infested den. He's also always busy with his partner in crime doing some unknown construction within the apartment. The landlord does call the cops eventually but the cops are against him for cutting his power and water. Thats a big no no... So the focus is on the landlord now and that will buy Hayes some time for him to continue on his sneaky work.