Recent stories in the news have had concerned property/homeowners wondering what rights, if any, they have to combat squatting.
Dictionary.com’s definition of a squatter is “a person who settles on land or occupies property without title, right, or payment of rent.”
While most people would understandably assume that anyone squatting on their property would be considered trespassers who they could immediately have kicked out by local law enforcement, that’s not necessarily the case.
In an interview with ABC News’ “Nightline” program, real estate attorney Dionna Reynolds said the squatter occupying the property could claim “adverse possession,” which allows them to “take that property on as their own.”
“And they do have certain legal rights,” Reynolds also noted, according to “Nightline.”
The courts usually have to become involved, which can turn into a huge, costly nightmarish experience for the property owner depending on the situation, which sheriff’s offices typically describe as a “civil matter” they can’t do much, if anything, about.
The typical squatting scenario involves properties that have been vacant for even a short period of time due to the death of a homeowner, a move, a temporary job transfer or other similar circumstances that require the homeowner to be away for enough time for someone to come in and take over.
In states like Georgia and New York, reports of rampant squatting and what property owners and nearby neighbors have tried to do to counter it are the stuff of nightmares.
In one recent story, a DeKalb resident said he’d been away from home to take care of his sick spouse when he discovered squatters had taken over the home he had been trying to rent out.
The man told WSB-TV “Basically, these people came in Friday, broke into my house and had a U-Haul move all their stuff in. It’s frustrating. It’s very frustrating. I can’t even sleep.”
In New York City, a squatter situation tragically turned deadly for one woman, who visited her deceased mother’s apartment to get it ready for new tenants when she was confronted by alleged squatters who allegedly murdered her and then stuffed her remains into a duffel bag.
The squatting situation took on even more of a sense of urgency when TikTok videos by Venezuelan illegal immigrant Leonel Moreno — who is considered a “migrant influencer” — advising other illegal immigrants on how to squat in someone’s home went viral.
According to Fox News, “Moreno previously told his audience he planned to make a business out of ‘invading’ abandoned houses and taking them over with squatters’ rights laws, then selling them for a profit.”
The same states that have been in the news over squatting incidents have in turn taken action to make it harder for squatters to claim so-called “squatters’ rights.”
In New York state, a bill was introduced last month that would ease the burden on homeowners who try to evict squatters.
As of this writing, the Georgia “Squatter Reform Act,” which was supported unanimously by both parties in the state legislature, is on its way to Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature.
And just last week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a similar bill that was also supported unanimously, saying the days of squatters asserting rights over property that wasn’t theirs were over.
“We are putting an end to the squatters scam in Florida,” DeSantis stated during a bill-signing presser. “While other states are siding with the squatters, we are protecting property owners and punishing criminals looking to game the system.”
That’s great news for law-abiding citizens and bad news for people who have weaponized so-called “squatters’ rights” laws to victimize them.
North Carolina native Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah and is a media analyst and regular contributor to RedState and Legal Insurrection.