Today in America, people are occupying homes that other people own. The people occupying these homes are called Squatters and they are often poor homeless people who do not want to be on the streets for extended periods.
However, what’s happening in these homes with squatters in them, is that they are committing crimes and generally wrecking the home along with the neighborhood. According to CBS New York as of April 8th, 2024, squatters have taken over a home in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, and left it a total mess.
Neighbors saw a Squatter break their security system and another, take water from their water fountain through a hose in a hole in their fence. These people would also hit other houses doing the same thing. Then the house would catch fire 3 times and cost the homeowner $900,000, along with the $6,000 that the homeowner was already paying for a house that probably cost $1.1 Million according to the median of the cost for a house in the area.
This isn’t a one-time story though, all across the United States there are stories of people having their property or their neighbor’s property being destroyed and their neighborhoods turned to ruin thanks to massive amounts of parties, drugs, armed robberies, etc.
It even gets worse, as Police have been seen defending squatters from landlords. One woman in Queens, New York City, was arrested for changing the locks on her house, now the squatter wants $18,000 just to leave her home.
People have also been taking up this crisis to make money off of it and do some good along the way. In southern California, a company called the Squatter Squad now offers consulting services for dealing with Squatters you can pay them to live with Squatters and make their lives a nightmare. This is beneficial as it saves landlords from paying for lawyers and spending years in court.
I also went around and asked people here what they thought of the Squatter Crisis affecting everyday Americans. Andrew Shaup in the 10th grade said “It’s pretty stupid you should be able to physically force people out of your house if they illegally enter.” and Delaina LeGrand in the 10th grade said, “I think it’s crazy.”
Then there’s Saniya Nicholas in the 12th grade who said “They have more rights than people who own houses. There was a squatter living in someone else’s house and she was on and she was on the news and got taken out of her own house because she was trying to lock the guy. She was warned by the police and she got arrested”
In conclusion, the Squatter Crisis in America has reached a breaking point, while states like Florida have pretty much made Squatter’s Rights nonexistent via a new law, other states like California, New York, and Boston have not passed such legislation. This will cause the crisis to go on for much longer than it should, damaging property and neighborhoods everywhere.
