Following a spate of media coverage, lawmakers are increasingly turning their attention to a relatively rare but provocative problem: squatters.
A pair of Democrats from Queens introduced a bill this week to clarify the definition of a squatter in state housing law, NY1 reported. The push is being led by state Sen. John Liu and Assembly member Ron Kim.
“There’s a growing trend of violators who are occupying spaces illegally, pretending to be legal tenants, when they’re not,” Kim said at a Flushing rally where the bill was introduced.
The legislation defines a squatter as someone who enters a property or building without title, right or permission, according to a press release from Liu’s office. That definition would clarify that squatters aren’t entitled to the same rights and protections as lawful occupants or owners, even after being there for 30 days.
State law dictates that people receive special protections after living on a property they don’t own for at least 30 days. Landlords then need to initiate special proceedings to evict a squatter, a process complicated by a backlog of cases at housing court.
Rather than slog through the court system for a year or more and pay tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees, some homeowners end up paying squatters to leave. The perpetrators then move on to new victims.
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Last month, two Republicans, Sen. Mario Mattera and Assembly member Ed Flood introduced a bill to help owners remove squatters, modeling the legislation off a law recently passed in Florida.
Their bill targets some of the same aspects of the real property law, such as the 30-day threshold for special protections and clarifying what makes a squatter. But generally, such legislation needs sponsors from the majority party to pass in the state Legislature, which is dominated by Democrats.
Earlier this year, Assembly member Jake Blumencraz and Sen. Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick introduced a measure excluding “squatters” from eviction protections that apply to tenants. It would increase the 30-day threshold to 45 days.