I lean very left politically. I have a coworker who is very conservative. We only see each other during shift changes and are very cordial. We never speak about politics and usually only talk about work and small talk. He mentioned to me that squatting is a huge problem. I have heard absolutely nothing about it. I know squatting exists. People will move into abandoned properties and I know that it is difficult to evict renters, but that’s not what he was talking about. He was saying that people are leaving for a couple of weeks or even the day and coming home to find people in their house and they have no recourse to remove them. This seems insane to me. Like you call the cops and they are taken away for breaking and entering or trespassing. He even says there are People you can hire to “re-squat’” meaning watch the house, wait for them to leave, then move in and turn the house back over to the previous owner. I told him that I had never heard of this at all. He says it is because our media is so different. He says his feed is filled with this stuff. Is this a thing?
Is squatting a major problem?
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where are you located?
Depends on where you are. I believe there was a fairly famous incident in LA, now I have to track it down.
If a place is truly abandoned I’m fine with it, it’s not ok if it’s a seasonal home or someone is away for a short while.
I mean it’s a huge problem if it’s your property and there’s a squatter in it, but I wouldn’t say it’s on the list of top 10 crimes or anything. Squatters rights are a thing and something most people don’t understand, or they think they do but don’t really.
It depends on local laws. It is a law in Spain for example where police won’t do anything without court decisions and court would be delayed for a year because it’s slow inefficient system.
Trans athletes also aren’t a huge problem (like a handful nationwide) but conservatives think it’s an epidemic.
a “Squatter” in modern context is a tenant you want to raise the rent on but legally can’t and fights you from evicting them before the end of the lease agreement.
> “people are leaving for a couple of weeks or even the day and coming home to find people in their house and they have no recourse to remove them. This seems insane to me”
You’re right that is insane lol.
Idk about his exact story but the scam can go something like this…. Squatter obtains fake lease paperwork with your address listed as the residence, they fill your name in as the landlord…fake signature. They break in to an empty home and hang up some clothes in the closet. Owner finds out, calls cops, squatters show the cops the fake lease and how their belongings are in the home. At this point the squatters claim that they have a signed lease with your info on it and it’s you (owner) that’s trying to rob them of a rent deposit by illegally kicking them out of THIER rented residence etc.
Bull shit right? No way the cops aren’t seeing this as a scam. Well some cops might just say that this is a civil matter and let you go through the courts to evict them in months (or years if the squatters are lawyers).
Not sure where you are but it’s a real problem.
In fact my first home was abandoned and taken over by they city as it was a squatters house. They would tap into the neighbors electricity when they could and run a hose over the fence.