What you should know
- “Owning a home is the American dream. But some people have turned it into an American nightmare,” said New York State Senator John Liu.
- That’s why Liu is sponsoring a new bill that will clarify “one who enters a property or building without title, right or permission and is therefore not subject to the same rights and protections of legal tenants.”
- There is another proposed change that has come up in the New York City Council. The bill would change tenant protections from 30 days, as it currently stands, to 180 days.
NEW YORK — They bought a house in Queens with the money they had saved and planned to renovate it. But Dr. Young Seh Bae says she and her husband felt robbed.
“It’s really frustrating. Stunned. “It’s a really traumatic experience,” Bae told NBC New York.
That’s because while they were waiting for renovation permits, someone broke into their home on Francis Lewis Boulevard in Flushing and then stayed there. Photos showed bags stacked with belongings that the squatters carried with them, and even grew marijuana plants.
But when did Bae call the police? The squatters said that they were the ones who lived there.
“Owning a home is the American dream. But some people have turned it into an American nightmare,” said New York State Senator John Liu.
That’s why Liu is sponsoring a new bill that will clarify “one who enters a property or building without title, right or permission and is therefore not subject to the same rights and protections of legal tenants.”
There is another proposed change that has come up in the New York City Council. The bill would change tenant protections from 30 days, as it currently stands, to 180 days.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the protections were designed to prevent unfair evictions. But now those who seek to take advantage of those protections are abusing them.
“There’s a reason there are squatter laws,” Adams said. “Some people are starting to exploit what those reasons are.”
While it’s unclear how widespread the problem really is, lawmakers and police have said reports of squatting are increasing.
“It is up to us to periodically review the laws, find the loopholes and close them,” said state Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky of Queens.
For Dr. Bae, getting a court order to evict the squatters took seven months. All because the squatters had fake IDs listing Bae’s address as their own.
“They said they had been there since October. We couldn’t really kick them out,” Bae said.
Now that the eviction has finally taken place, the owners hope to finish construction and move in come fall.
2024-04-11 02:46:23
#NYC #cracks #squatters #protect #homeowners
