New York Squatters to Get Help Under New Plan

New York City Council member Kamillah Hanks wants to create a task force that will help with the removal of squatters and assist them in finding housing if necessary.

Hanks, who is the primary sponsor of a bill to establish the task force, aims to amend New York City’s administrative code to allow for the formation of the unit that will deal with the issue of squatting.

The Context

Although the issue has been dismissed by some as fearmongering, squatting has gained national prominence in recent months.

Some experts have said squatting—when someone occupies a home with no rights to the property—is rare. Others have expressed concerns that some landlords are exploiting the issue in attempt to deny tenants who have legal claims to a property of their rights.

New York is considered to have relatively lenient laws when it comes to squatters, where an individual can lay claim to residency if they have lived on a residential property for at least a decade or 20 years for land that was initially vacant. They have to be taking steps to maintain the property. In the city, to evict an accused squatter can take time and the legal process can be cumbersome.

A recent poll by Redfield & Wilton Strategies conducted for Newsweek found that more than 70 percent of New Yorkers approve of legislative efforts to change regulations on squatting in the city.

One squatter in the city is facing allegations that include forging documents and locking out the owner, charges that could result in 15 years in jail.

Views

Hanks, in her bill for a new task force to deal with the issue, suggested that the new team will work toward creating a framework to evict squatters.

“This bill would create an interagency taskforce to address issues regarding squatting in the city, including the removal of persons squatting on properties, helping them find legitimate housing,” according to a summary of the legislation.

The legislation will also aim to clarify the responsibility of owners, especially for properties that are not currently occupied.

[“Identify] properties where people are or might be squatting, communicating with the owners of abandoned properties to ensure that such properties do not remain abandoned, and notifying the owners of abandoned properties of their obligation to maintain such properties, and enforcing that obligation,” the summary added.

Newsweek contacted Hanks’ office for comment via email.