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| -Land of the Free |
| Here's how homeowners can fight against squatter insanity |
| 2024-04-03 |
| [FoxNews] If you own a home and don't want to lose it, keep reading. Homeowners who go on vacation or a business trip, even for just a week, are returning to find their house overtaken by trespassers who fraudulently claim a right to be there. It's happening to tens of thousands of homeowners from New York City to Atlanta and Los Angeles. When owners call the police, they're told police can't help. It's a civil matter, and they have to file an eviction lawsuit, which can drag on for months or years because housing courts are backlogged. Meanwhile, owners are out on the street while squatters are living free, destroying houses and even selling off owners' belongings. If you found a stranger sitting in your car and called the police, they would immediately ask to see the registration and decide who owns it, explains Georgetown law professor Jonathan Turley. They wouldn't let the thief drive off. But the law is stacked against homeowners. You can thank leftist lawmakers who have degraded property rights and tilted the law to favor criminals. The result is an epidemic of brazen squatting. In New York state, a homeowner faced with a trespasser can expect eviction to take two years. Meanwhile, the owner is barred from turning off utilities, removing belongings or doing anything else to get the invaders out. It's crazy. New York State Assemblyman Jake Blumencranz of Long Island introduced legislation saying a squatter is not a tenant and is not entitled to the same protections. Will it pass in Albany? Don't hold your breath. But some states are acting quickly against this crime wave. The Florida Legislature passed a bill to empower police to immediately remove anyone who can't produce a notarized lease. Georgia's statehouse passed the Squatter Reform Act, making squatting a crime – criminal trespass – to be handled by the police, not housing court. It's likely to pass the Senate shortly. In blue states like California and New York, is there hope for homeowners to get protection against squatters? Not from Congress. Democrats in Congress are actually pushing a federal housing law that would bar landlords from learning whether potential tenants have criminal records, including past squatting offenses. But there is a remedy – bringing a lawsuit in federal court against states like New York and California that fail to protect property rights. The U.S. Constitution enshrines property rights as a fundamental guarantee. And recently, the justices have struck down state laws that allow trespassers to interfere with property rights. In 2021, the Pacific Legal Foundation brought a suit on behalf of a property owner, and the court ruled in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid that "government-authorized invasions of property" amount to a taking just as if the government had taken the property directly. Favoring intruders over owners constitutes a "taking" that violates the Fifth Amendment, which says government cannot impinge on your right to your property. There's no time to waste in acting to protect homeowners. Venezuelan TikTok influencer Leonel Moreno claims invading vacant homes is the only option for illegal migrants flooding into the United States. His now-deleted TikTok video explaining how to identify a home that is empty and ready for the taking reached 4 million views. Surprised? Don't be. Criminals from south of the border are coming in droves to plunder the far wealthier United States. Some cross illegally and are recruited by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and El Salvador's MS-13. Others are coming in on tourist visas. Law enforcement is reporting a surge in South American burglary gangs operating in at least half the states in the U.S. Of course many migrants are honest and hardworking. But there's no denying a movement northward to "take what you can get" poses new danger to homeowners, including the risk of squatters. Favoring intruders over owners constitutes a "taking" that violates the Fifth Amendment, which says government cannot impinge on your right to your property. As Moreno says, "If a house is not inhabited, we can seize it." Tell lawmakers to act now to protect homeowners. This is the United States. Here property rights are not up for debate. They're guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. You worked for it, you paid for it, it's yours. Period. |
| Posted by:Skidmark |
| #14 OTOH a box of shells may be cheaper, but not the legal fee to defend yourself from the state gov'ts that enable this crap. That's where the shovels come in handy. Pro Tip: dig the hole (or holes) first |
| Posted by: SteveS 2024-04-03 20:45 |
| #13 The key thing -apparently- is to have an ally with a valid lease, and not the owner, in the house when the kerfuffle commences. |
| Posted by: Ululating+Platypus 2024-04-03 19:04 |
| #12 ^ Some legal aid nimrod. |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2024-04-03 15:59 |
| #11 Serious question: What's to stop me and 5 of my biggest friends from reentering the premises, carrying the squatter's stuff to the curb and then inviting the squatters to leave my home at gun point? |
| Posted by: Angstrom 2024-04-03 15:44 |
| #10 I'm thinking, as long as the homeowner's insurance doesn't pay off they squatters when the house burns down. |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2024-04-03 12:16 |
| #9 Article the other day talked about a service provided by someone who was a victim of squatting. He'll go to your house, move in, change the locks and file the necessary bullshit to have the original squatters evicted... OTOH a box of shells may be cheaper, but not the legal fee to defend yourself from the state gov'ts that enable this crap. |
| Posted by: Mercutiio 2024-04-03 11:57 |
| #8 A DIY approach might be to go down to Home Depot, buy some shovels and crow bars, and hire a half-dozen day labor guys to spend the afternoon inviting the squatters to leave. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2024-04-03 10:08 |
| #7 I expected this to go to an ad for 12 gauge shot guns. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2024-04-03 09:26 |
| #6 I think the key is a smart home approach. Like a Dalek butler. |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2024-04-03 07:49 |
| #5 We will treat it as a hostile home invasion. |
| Posted by: NN2N1 2024-04-03 07:35 |
| #4 Live in a castle doctrine state. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2024-04-03 06:59 |
| #3 Ah, 1of5 from yesterday. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2024-04-03 03:55 |
| #2 Killing the squatters works. Just sayin' |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2024-04-03 01:55 |
| #1 'Serial squatter' refusing to leave $2M Seattle home escapes eviction for THIRD time after non-profit coughs up another $50K in taxpayer cash to cover his rent |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2024-04-03 00:11 |