If squatters take over one’s property, how should that problem be dealt with? One woman in New York recently found out the hard way that self-help can lead to trouble with law enforcement, however unjust that might be, leading to the need for other solutions, particularly given squatters brazenly taking over properties in even the nicest neighborhoods. Such a solution is what “Squatter Squad” provides to LA-area property owners.
As background, though squatters are not the property owners, some states have laws that protect squatters from removal. In New York, for example, the utilities cannot be shut off after squatters take over a property, and if they have been there for 30 days and claim to have a lease on it, then the homeowner has to go to court to get them removed, a major expense and headache.
In any case, video from a home in the San Fernando Vally, an area in the LA vicinity, shows a video fo home inspectors taking care of a squatter situation by entering a home, changing the locks. and boarding up the windows after having the group of a dozen squatters exit the house and stand on the front lawn. When one of the squatters complains, saying, “The police are gonna come,” the inspector fires back, “That’s fine. We’re coming in.”
The video was taken by a group called Squatter Squad, which says it uses a variety of entirely legal tactics to get squatters out of property they’ve taken over, and has been successful in doing it since 2018. According to the group, what technique is appropriate depends on the situation, as people who invade homes and refuse to leave might be protected by the law and need to be dealt with in a legal way.
In this case, one which a Squatter Squad member called “very tricky and complex,” the home inspection trick was used. The intruders were under the impression that an entry into the home required both a three-day notice and that the notice come through court. But, as a building inspection requires just 24 hours of notice and no court involvement, that could be used here to get the squatters out and obtain entry.
Then, once the home inspector was in the building and the squatters out, the owner sent in a team of of workers who changed the locks and boarded up the house, keeping the squatters from being able to enter again.
Predictably, the squatters tried to call the police and get them to stop the owner from defending the property, but when the officers did arrive they just let the inspectors do their work. Defeated, the squatters packed up their belongings and left.
Watch the two-part video below:
Commenting on the matter on X (formerly Twitter), numerous posters noted that the use of Squatter Squad and its tactics is only necessary because the government has failed to protect the property rights of homeowners, a state of things that does not reflect well on the priorities of current governments across America.
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
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