Increased incidence of squatting in empty homes/rental homes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of the reasons we moved from Clarendon was that either our back yard or front porch would accommodate squatters each weekend. Drunk kids from the suburbs would park in our neighborhoods, couldn't find their cars, and crash on our property. It was amusing the first time but not subsequent times after cleaning up vomit.

Not what the thread is about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are people who scam people looking for a place to rent by advertising vacant properties as their own or under their management. People who rent under those conditions don't know their landlord has no legal right to the property.

This has been going on forever. A good friend of mine was scammed when she moved to NYC and was trying to find an apartment in Manhattan twenty years ago. Someone was showing a vacant apartment in a walk-up building in Turtle Bay, it was probably priced around 20% below normal market value under the guise that the apartment was rent stabilized. The guy advertised on Craigslist and held an open house one day with a ton of foot traffic. The guy showing it took deposits from 30+ potential renters and ran off with the money, including my friend. Landlord - a big company with lots of buildings in the city - was not even aware that someone was showing the apartment. NYPD got involved, I think the local Fox News station ran a segment on the scam. Pretty awful.

[Anonymous]

I think this is a larger shift in society where criminals have more rights than victims and the penalties for crime are lowered. I understand wanting to keep people out of jail, but a lot of these crimes (like squatting and shoplifting) are gateway crimes. Instead of sending squatters to jail, why can’t they just be removed instantly? Homeowners are unable to get back into their homes, have to pay for water/electricity that someone else is using and can’t even rekey the doors.

[Anonymous]

There are two different issues people are bringing up:
1. People who legally moved into the house and then stopped paying rent. They are NOT squatters. You have to go through the courts. The are delinquent tenants.

2. Squatters have broken into a an unoccupied house and say they have a fake lease. There is a handyman who found a squatter in his mother's house. He went to the police and the police said there was nothing they could do. So he staked out the house and then as soon as the squatter left he entered the house and removed their stuff and put up cameras.

He now has a business removing squatters, not delinquent tenants. He has the owner write him up a lease so he is a legal tenant. Then he stakes out the house and when the people leave he moves in with back-up if necessary. He puts up cameras and will live stream. If the squatters call the police the police come and say it is a civil matter. He then waits out the squatters and makes life uncomfortable for them. He says if the owner has already gone to court then he will not take the job because by going to court the squatters become legal tenants with rights.
https://www.youtube.com/w...94UgKaPB-K

He has one video of a celebrity chef who was squatting in a house and the owner who was an older woman with a brain injury was terrified because she was still living there. The squatter called the police when the handyman moved The police said it was a civil manner and the handyman had the right to put up cameras everywhere except the bathroom and the bedroom the squatter was in. The handyman locked the refrigerator and laundry

As more people try to squat, more people are going to go into business of getting a crew together to confront the squatters. I can picture a lot of violence is going to be happening. I would rather pay someone like the handyman $5-10,000 to get out a squatter than deal with an attorney and go to court. The laws need to change ASAP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this is a larger shift in society where criminals have more rights than victims and the penalties for crime are lowered. I understand wanting to keep people out of jail, but a lot of these crimes (like squatting and shoplifting) are gateway crimes. Instead of sending squatters to jail, why can’t they just be removed instantly? Homeowners are unable to get back into their homes, have to pay for water/electricity that someone else is using and can’t even rekey the doors.

Technically, they are trespassing, so they should be prosecuted. And, they should be required to pay restitution for any damages they caused.
But, in NY - due to the crazy laws - "tenants" have more rights than "landlords."

This piece explains the issue:

New York has a history of passing some of the toughest laws in the country that are meant to protect honest tenants from greedy landlords. But some lawmakers say the laws have gone too far. They also allow dishonest tenants to take advantage of free housing for years.

A State Assemblyman from Long Island filed a bill that would make it easier for a home owner to remove a squatter from the property.

This comes after Eyewitness News exclusively reported on a homeowner in Queens who was arrested for changing the locks on men she says are squatting in her home. We also reported weeks prior on another family in Douglaston who has been unable to move into a $2 million home they purchased due to a man who refuses to leave.

In New York, if you call the police on someone who moved into your home without permission, if they claim to be a tenant, they can't be arrested for trespassing. Instead, the owner has to take them to court to evict them. The average eviction in the city takes about two years to complete.

n New York, squatters have rights after 30 days. That means the property owner can't change the locks on them, can't remove their belongings, and can't cut off the utilities. If they do, the owner could be arrested. Instead, property owners must go through the court system to get rid of them.

"People can stay in homes for years, years, without having justice brought to them for essentially staying for free and making homeowners pay the bill," Blumencranz said..

His newly filed bill is pretty simple. It states a tenant does not include squatters. It also gives someone rights after 45 days, not 30 as many short term rentals in NYC are required to be 30 days long.

https://abc7ny.com/squatters-squatting-rent-homeowner/14553934/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this is a larger shift in society where criminals have more rights than victims and the penalties for crime are lowered. I understand wanting to keep people out of jail, but a lot of these crimes (like squatting and shoplifting) are gateway crimes. Instead of sending squatters to jail, why can’t they just be removed instantly? Homeowners are unable to get back into their homes, have to pay for water/electricity that someone else is using and can’t even rekey the doors.

Not really. Searching for "removing squatters" on Youtube - tons of videos from the past 10 years: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=removing+squatters&sp=CAM%253D

It's hitting a fever pitch right now because housing prices are out of control at the current interest rate. Housing is the primary contributor to keeping inflation above 3% overall: https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2024/consumer-prices-up-3-2-percent-from-february-2023-to-february-2024.htm

[Anonymous]

If you don't pay you should be out in 2 weeks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
There are two different issues people are bringing up:
1. People who legally moved into the house and then stopped paying rent. They are NOT squatters. You have to go through the courts. The are delinquent tenants.

2. Squatters have broken into a an unoccupied house and say they have a fake lease. There is a handyman who found a squatter in his mother's house. He went to the police and the police said there was nothing they could do. So he staked out the house and then as soon as the squatter left he entered the house and removed their stuff and put up cameras.

He now has a business removing squatters, not delinquent tenants. He has the owner write him up a lease so he is a legal tenant. Then he stakes out the house and when the people leave he moves in with back-up if necessary. He puts up cameras and will live stream. If the squatters call the police the police come and say it is a civil matter. He then waits out the squatters and makes life uncomfortable for them. He says if the owner has already gone to court then he will not take the job because by going to court the squatters become legal tenants with rights.
https://www.youtube.com/w...94UgKaPB-K

He has one video of a celebrity chef who was squatting in a house and the owner who was an older woman with a brain injury was terrified because she was still living there. The squatter called the police when the handyman moved The police said it was a civil manner and the handyman had the right to put up cameras everywhere except the bathroom and the bedroom the squatter was in. The handyman locked the refrigerator and laundry

As more people try to squat, more people are going to go into business of getting a crew together to confront the squatters. I can picture a lot of violence is going to be happening. I would rather pay someone like the handyman $5-10,000 to get out a squatter than deal with an attorney and go to court. The laws need to change ASAP.

This is a great idea. Being an evictor would be easy money for some people. Bravo, I say!

[Anonymous]

Have to agree this is a liberal problem. Blue states/cities made this a problem and allow their bureaucracies to be too defensive of people who break laws. I speak this as someone who resides in a solidly blue area - Baltimore.

It's been a bit of an issue in predominately lower middle class black neighborhoods in the city. Some of the neighborhoods now have active groups watching for squatters and if they see a squatting group take over a house that's empty for whatever reason, the neighborhood acts quickly and usually gets the squatters out within a day or two. But that it still keeps going on is a testament to the failures of the overall bureaucracy and legal system that's supposed to defend law abiding people, not protect criminals over law abiding people.

[Anonymous]

A little off topic, but when we listed our house for sale we ended up finding out that multiple scammers also listed it for rent on Craigslist and other sites, probably even took some deposits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it takes 30+ days for someone to establish residence. I’d hope one would know if someone has been in their house for over 39 days.

+1 It's not "go out to dinner, and then someone squats in your home". That would immediately be a B&E since they would not be able to show a valid utility bill in that time, nor would they be able to get rid of all your stuff in that amount of time.

But, yes, 30 days, that's concerning.

We are planning to spend a lot of time traveling when the kids are out of the house. I told DH that squatting is a big concern. We will have cameras in the house, and hopefully, neighbors who will keep an eye out. Or, maybe get a house alarm with a company.

It works in blue states with ridiculous laws. It does not work in red states and would be down right dangerous in stand your ground states or strong castle law states.

From one of the articles:

In Georgia, a property owner who left to care for his sick wife returned to learn that interlopers had moved in and changed the locks on his home, and he’s not allowed to kick them out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it takes 30+ days for someone to establish residence. I’d hope one would know if someone has been in their house for over 39 days.

+1 It's not "go out to dinner, and then someone squats in your home". That would immediately be a B&E since they would not be able to show a valid utility bill in that time, nor would they be able to get rid of all your stuff in that amount of time.

But, yes, 30 days, that's concerning.

We are planning to spend a lot of time traveling when the kids are out of the house. I told DH that squatting is a big concern. We will have cameras in the house, and hopefully, neighbors who will keep an eye out. Or, maybe get a house alarm with a company.

It works in blue states with ridiculous laws. It does not work in red states and would be down right dangerous in stand your ground states or strong castle law states.

From one of the articles:

In Georgia, a property owner who left to care for his sick wife returned to learn that interlopers had moved in and changed the locks on his home, and he’s not allowed to kick them out.

I honestly don't understand how this is possible. How can this be allowed for the rightful owner?

[Anonymous]

I remember how slum landlords used to be a thing. They would rent condos in awful condition, in awful buildings, to folks on welfare or to senior citizens living on a tiny income. This is a major reason why laws were enacted to protect tenants.

But now it seems the criminals have learned how to exploit these laws meant to protect the vulnerable.

Time to change the wording on the laws. Continue to protect the vulnerable, but prevent exploitation by the unscrupulous.

[Anonymous]

Why is squatter's rights even a thing? I dont understand why anyone should be allowed to just move into someone else's home. Can you give me an example of where these laws make any sense?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You all are confusing the 30 days. If someone comes into your house, they will lie and say they've been there for weeks/month. And in the moment it's hard to prove your word against theirs. They fake leases, rental agreements and bills. If you call the cops, it will EASILY be 30 days before the cops resolve it and by that time they're a tenant and you need to go through the courts.

This was the problem with the NY case. They told her she had to go to court to prove she hadn’t rented them the house, but the court case would take more than 30 days and by then, they would legally be tenants under NY law.