A local New York ABC News affiliate reported on the threat squatters are posing to residents and offered tips on how they can protect their homes from unwelcome guests, including putting up "No trespassing" signs.
ABC 7 Eyewitness News investigative reporters Dan Krauth and Nina Pineda detailed the threat that squatters can pose under New York law, where a person can claim squatters' rights if they have lived in a home for more than 30 days.
Efforts to change this law have gained serious traction in recent days after video of New York City property owner Adele Andeloro getting arrested for confronting squatters at what she claimed to be her residence went viral.
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Andaloro was arrested at her property for changing the locks on the home, which police at the scene claimed was her illegally evicting several people at her home. Referring to one of the residents – who claimed without proof that he was on the lease – police told Andeloro "he can't be kicked out, you have to go to court."
As the local reporters noted Wednesday, Andeloro’s charges have since been dropped, "but strangers are still living inside her home." They reported that in the wake Andeloro’s story – and those of other families embroiled in months-long legal battles with unwanted squatters – they’ve received "dozens of messages from homeowners in the same situation."
"And it took another family 25 months to get the squatters out," Krauth reported. He added that this problem won’t be easily solved until there are changes to state law. Until that change occurs, "it makes it difficult for police to intervene, and requires homeowners to take squatters to court."
The station spoke to Republican New York Assemblyman Jake Blumencranz, who has introduced a bill to classify squatters as trespassers, not tenants. As such, "law enforcement can do their jobs," he said.
Pineda then gave ABC7 viewers tips on how to protect their homes from squatters, particularly if they’re going to be away from their residences for an extended period of time.
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"One of the first things you should do, if you’re leaving your property, let the police know it’s going to be uninhabited," the reporter said, adding, "Report it to the local precinct. The goal is have record of proof the house is supposed to be empty."
Pineda also advised to get a home security system with a camera so that homeowners can "see who’s at your front door" and have "video proof" that the supposed squatters actually trespassed.
The reporter then pulled out a "No Trespassing" sign, saying, "You can do this."
"This was $3.47 at Home Depot. It is a No Trespassing sign. You can put this up in your front door, on your property line, somewhere where you can see it from the street."
She offered another tip as well.
"Take a time-stamped picture of the sign," she said. "Most iPhones do this automatically. Because what you want to prove to police is that the sign was up before the squatters moved in."
"You can show they broke in, entered illegally, and then you have helped take away their squatter rights."
