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Here’s what to know about New York’s anti-squatter law [1]
['Paul Liotta', 'Pliotta Siadvance.Com']
Date: 2024-04-28 16:00:00.850000+00:00
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Opportunistic squatters have long been a worry for New York property owners, but a portion of the 2024 state budget promises to change that, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Monday.
“As part of the historic actions to address the housing crisis in the [fiscal year] 2025 budget, Governor Hochul reached an agreement to reinforce existing law to make clear that squatters are not tenants, supporting property owners statewide,” a Hochul spokesperson said.
A portion of the budget agreement clarifies a tenant-protection portion of state law adding language that specifically excludes squatters from those protections.
The language defines a squatter as someone staying at a property without permission from the owner or a representative for the owner.
Squatters’ rights, an age-old complaint among property owners in the Empire State, came to the forefront on political consciousness this year following a series of high-profile media reports related to people effectively stealing homes.
On Staten Island, the NYPD arrested four people earlier this month for allegedly commandeering a Westerleigh home.
Cops said they arrested four people after “squatters had taken over” the residence and they received “numerous community complaints” about the home at 305 Livermore Ave., according to a post by the 121st Precinct on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In addition to the arrests, the city Buildings Department issued a partial vacate order and “the home was secured to prevent the squatters from returning,” said the NYPD post, which included photos of officials boarding up windows and doors.
District Attorney Michael McMahon said Thursday that he had long directed his office to crack down on squatters, and that the law change would help his staff do so better.
“Squatters are not just an inconvenience for Staten Island property owners, they are often brazen, opportunistic fraudsters who exploit our laws to the detriment of law-abiding homeowners and surrounding neighbors and they pose a credible threat to our borough’s public safety,” he said. “It defies all rational thinking that until now, New York’s laws have benefitted and protected squatters over taxpaying property owners and actually hamstrung law enforcement from taking meaningful action.”
Bipartisan support of changing squatters’ rights grew around the state, including on Staten Island where State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (D-North Shore/Southern Brooklyn) and Assemblyman Michael Tannousis (R-East Shore/South Brooklyn) pushed for new rules.
“For too long, my constituents have grappled with the current reality where individuals unlawfully occupy their spaces without any recourse. We witness distressing scenarios unfold in the news week after week — hardworking homeowners facing legal repercussions for rightfully reclaiming their own property from individuals who brazenly occupy it without consent,” Scarcella-Spanton said. “No one should return home to find their property seized by squatters, who now have more rights to their property than they do.”
Scarcella-Spanton introduced legislation earlier this year that contained squatter-defining language similar to what was included in the state budget. Previously, there was limited legal distinction between tenants and squatters.
Tannousis joined fellow members of the minority Republican party earlier this year in calling for changes to the state’s squatter rights that could leave homeowners embroiled in years-long legal battles trying to get the wrongdoers out of their homes.
He said Monday that the portion of the budget doesn’t go far enough tying it into Republicans’ oft-repeated refrain about bail reform.
“The Assembly failed to make any actual meaningful impact on public safety. For example, the new crimes enacted to protect transit workers and retail workers are being introduced as non-bailable offenses,” he said. “I’m happy to see the squatting proposal which I advocated for be included in the budget but there is an overarching issue at play that is continuously being ignored and if it is not addressed, crime will continue to rise as our quality of life continues to diminish.”
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[1] Url:
https://www.silive.com/news/2024/04/heres-what-to-know-about-new-yorks-anti-squatter-law.html
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