Hinekura Lawson-Candelaria, who holds the liquor licence for Heffs Hotel in King Edward St, refused to leave the hotel at 5pm on Friday when an eviction notice giving her 10 days to vacate the leased premises, expired.
Hans Van Der Laan, the man who was to have taken over running Heffs on a temporary authority yesterday, said it turned out Ms Lawson-Candelaria could not be evicted without a court order.
One had not been arranged and she refused to leave on Friday.
He said Ms Lawson-Candelaria was being evicted because she owed more than $100,000 in rent to the building's owner.
The gaming machines at Heffs were switched off last week and the TAB was closed down automatically when the eviction notice was issued.
Police could not arrest Ms Lawson-Candelaria because it was a civil matter and a court bailiff was required to enact the eviction notice because the hotel was a commercial premises, Mr Van Der Laan said.
A High Court order for removal was required and as of yesterday the next available court date was at least 29 days away, he said.
He understood the building owner had not yet decided on court action.
In another twist, after she was served with a trespass notice from the building owner's lawyer, Ms Lawson-Candelaria's lawyer served a trespass notice on Mr Van Der Laan and the building's owner.
He understood she could not be removed from the building, where she lived on site, but could be arrested if she left and returned there.
The building owner and Mr Van Der Laan could not enter the premises.
Effectively, Ms Lawson-Candelaria was squatting illegally, but could still trade legally, Mr Van Der Laan, a previous manager of Heffs, said.
Planning to take over operation of the business, the situation had left him and his wife, who had previously been a cleaner at the hotel, unemployed while Ms Lawson-Candelaria was in situ.
The situation was dismaying, he said.
When contacted, Ms Lawson-Candelaria declined to comment, other than to say she disagreed with everything Mr Van Der Laan said.
