{"id":2231009,"date":"2024-04-26T14:06:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-26T18:06:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/squatters-are-taking-over-in-these-areas-heres-what-homeowners-are-doing-about-it\/"},"modified":"2024-04-26T14:12:57","modified_gmt":"2024-04-26T18:12:57","slug":"squatters-are-taking-over-in-these-areas-heres-what-homeowners-are-doing-about-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/squatters-are-taking-over-in-these-areas-heres-what-homeowners-are-doing-about-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Areas Battling Squatter Takeovers: Homeowners&#8217; Response Strategies"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsquatters-are-taking-over-in-these-areas-heres-what-homeowners-are-doing-about-it%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2231009&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The rise of squatters in America\u200d is alarming homeowners, with cases of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/reporter-robbed-at-gunpoint-while-filming-television-segment-on-robberies-in-san-francisco-report\/\" title=\"Reporter Robbed At Gunpoint While Filming Television Segment On Robberies In San Francisco: Report\">break-ins<\/a> and\u200b property takeovers escalating. While \u2062certain states like Georgia, Florida, and Texas are hotspots, the lack of\u200d immediate \u200clegal actions leaves owners helpless. \u2062Creative strategies are emerging, highlighting the challenges faced by homeowners dealing with squatting issues amid evolving \u200dhousing laws and \u2063<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/china-pledges-to-increase-pollution-for-another-decade\/\" title=\"China \u2018Pledges\u2019 to Increase Pollution for Another Decade\">economic uncertainties<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p>An epidemic of squatters is plaguing American homeowners, and they are all the way fed up.<\/p>\n<p>It seems like every day a new horror story emerges of squatters breaking into someone\u2019s home, living in it for free, and leaving it trashed months later, all while homeowners watch helplessly from the sidelines.<\/p>\n<p>While there\u2019s no comprehensive data on exactly how many hundreds of squatters the country has, the problem is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/squatters-can-now-come-in-and-steal-your-home-with-no-consequences\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">more dire<\/a> in some areas than in others. A squatter is someone who trespasses and occupies a property with zero legal right to be there.<\/p>\n<p>Georgia, Florida, and Texas have the metropolitan areas with the most homes taken over by squatters, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/squatting-map-cities-highest-number-homes-1886005#:~:text=There%20is%20little%20research%20about,Rental%20Home%20Council%20(NRHC).\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according<\/a> to a survey by the National Rental Home Council.<\/p>\n<p>In Atlanta, about 1,200 homes have had squatters. In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, squatters have taken over about 475 homes. In the Orlando area, about 125 homes have seen squatters.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_729361\" style=\"width: 874px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-729361\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Elijah Nouvelage\/Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>In most situations, police have their hands tied and are not able to kick squatters out immediately due to tenant protections. Meanwhile, housing courts usually have a huge backlog, leaving most homeowners with nothing to do but wait as they bleed cash and watch their homes get destroyed.<\/p>\n<p>Recently though, some owners have gotten creative.<\/p>\n<p>In New York City, two immigrants from <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2024\/04\/23\/us-news\/squatters-get-the-boot-home-owners-sick-of-the-intrusion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pakistan and Trinidad<\/a> spent $1.3 million on three homes in Coney Island only to have them taken over by 10 squatters while the owners were out of town during the pandemic. Meanwhile, the city\u2019s buildings department slapped them with $370,000 in fines over their houses\u2019 deteriorating conditions even though the squatters were preventing repairs.<\/p>\n<p>However, the two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cuomo-lights-up-democrat-lawmaker-who-he-allegedly-threatened-possibly-engaged-in-illegal-racket\/\" title=\"Cuomo Lights Up Democrat Lawmaker Who He Allegedly Threatened: Possibly Engaged In \u2018Illegal\u2019 \u2018Racket\u2019\">owners found<\/a> a shortcut to ousting the illegal occupants when they discovered the squatters had illegally installed temporary walls to make more bedrooms. The NYPD was able to kick them out after this discovery.<\/p>\n<p>A Seattle woman found a similar loophole to remove the squatters who took over her $4,000-a-month apartment.<\/p>\n<p>Moving quickly before\u00a0Washington state\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrents.com\/squatters-rights-wa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">squatter\u2019s rights<\/a>\u201d kicked in at 30 days, she found the name of one of the squatters by going through the mail coming to her apartment. She discovered the person had a criminal charge for walking topless in downtown Seattle. This motivated the police to kick the group out, she said, and cops broke down the door and arrested the group for trespassing. One of the squatters was an OnlyFans creator and had installed a stripper pole in the living room.<\/p>\n<p>In Hollywood Hills, a squatter took over a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kktv.com\/2024\/02\/27\/squatters-take-over-hollywood-hills-mansion-use-it-produce-onlyfans-content-realtor-says\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">$4 million home<\/a> and then rented out one of the rooms for $2000 to an unsuspecting woman. Both were ousted when the real estate agent called the police suspecting a robbery \u2014 the man fled, and the woman did not appear to know about squatters\u2019 rights.<\/p>\n<p>These nightmare stories have become increasingly common, especially since the economic turbulence sparked by the pandemic. Landlords <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/los-angeles-landlords-face-nightmare-scenario-tenants-who-stay-and-dont-pay\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">struggled<\/a> for months after local governments temporarily banned evictions during COVID. When those eviction moratoriums ended, homelessness and squatting incidents <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/the-weekend-jolt\/what-is-causing-the-squatting-surge\/#:~:text=Many%20factors%2C%20of%20course%2C%20may,at%20play%2C%20involving%20social%20media.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">surged<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The squatter problem even has an international component \u2014 an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, Leonel Moreno was <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2024\/04\/03\/us-news\/migrant-influencer-leonel-moreno-investigated-for-gun-charges\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">arrested<\/a> on firearms charges after he mocked American homeowners on TikTok and encouraged migrants to squat in the homes of U.S. citizens.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_729355\" style=\"width: 874px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-729355\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Elijah Nouvelage\/Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>As the problem worsens, there is a growing appetite for consequences.<\/p>\n<p>Just this week, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp <a href=\"https:\/\/mynbc15.com\/news\/nation-world\/georgia-governor-to-sign-bill-criminalizing-squatting-insane-that-it-even-happens-brian-kemp-squatters-landowners-homeowners-home-devan-seabaugh-ron-desantis-florida\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">signed<\/a> a bill criminalizing squatting. Under the new law, squatters can be arrested and will face a fine based on the property\u2019s rent price.<\/p>\n<p>Last month, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/nation\/2024\/04\/03\/squatters-rise-florida-ny-georgia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">signed<\/a> a similar bill giving homeowners in the state \u201cthe ability to quickly and legally remove a squatter from a property,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>New York, which has seen a wave of disturbing squatter stories especially in New York City, recently <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2024\/04\/24\/us-news\/ny-pols-take-aim-at-squatters-with-crystal-clear-laws-favoring-homeowners-after-series-of-takeovers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">enacted<\/a> new legislation to crack down on the problem as well. South Carolina has introduced a bill that would allow a property owner to immediately remove a squatter.<\/p>\n<p>The momentum in favor of homeowners may come too late for some who have endured years of expensive legal battles to regain their properties, but the new laws may at least act as a deterrent to would-be future squatters.<\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>American homeowners are facing a rising squatter epidemic, causing frustration and helplessness. Stories of break-ins, unpaid stays, and property damage abound. Homeowners feel powerless as the issue persists. Despite efforts, a comprehensive solution remains elusive<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":2231010,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2024\/04\/GettyImages-1953488991.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2231009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-wire"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2024\/04\/GettyImages-1953488991.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2231009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2231009"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2231009\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2231010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2231009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2231009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2231009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}