New Yorkers Wrongly Accused of Squatting Could Get Huge Payouts

A New York state senator has proposed “aggressive” legislative action to combat the “squatting epidemic” in the Empire State while giving those wrongfully accused of camping out in someone else’s home a huge payout.

According to the American Apartment Owners Association (AAOA), a squatter is any individual who decides to inhabit a piece of land or a building in which they have no legal right to occupy. Over the past several weeks, there have been numerous incidents involving squatters and attempts to have them evicted from homes they don’t own.

In New York State, if a squatter has been living in a home for 30 days, they obtain tenant rights and homeowners must go through a court eviction process to get rid of them and their belongings. Attorney Ann-Margaret Carrozza told News 12 Long Island that this process “can take about a year.”

Republican Long Island lawmaker Mario Mattera announced his proposal in a news release on Tuesday. The proposal includes a set of bills, which Mattera’s office says is aimed at “protecting legal homeowners.”

Included in the proposal is Senate Bill 8867, which would allow police to immediately evict suspected squatters from residential properties, based solely on a homeowner’s sworn complaint. The new law would not require court action.

However, Mattera’s office said, “to balance the aggressive stance,” the new proposal includes “substantial civil protections for individuals wrongfully removed, including potential triple damages, restoration of possession, and attorney fees for the aggrieved party.”

“While protections are necessary against malicious actions, it’s crucial that we decisively protect our legal homeowners who have suffered due to the current broken system. We are committed to reversing the trend that favors squatters and trespassers, thereby reinstating fundamental rights to our state’s homeowners,” the state senator said in the news release.

Newsweek reached out to Mattera and New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s office via email for comment.

The three other bills that are part of Mattera’s proposal changes the definition of an occupant under current law to exclude squatters and trespassers; bars squatters from receiving treble damages, which is an award of up to three times the actual damages, relating to cases of forcible or unlawful entry of a property or detainer; and clarifies that squatting is included in criminal trespass in the third degree.

All four of Mattera’s bills relating to squatters are in Senate committees.

A few recent incidents of alleged squatting have made headlines in local and national news.

In Flushing, Queens, New York, property owner Adele Andaloro was arrested for changing the locks on a home she inherited from her deceased parents where she claimed squatters were living, local ABC News affiliate WABC reported last week.

Last Friday, two suspected squatters were taken into custody after Nadia Vitel was found dead in a duffel bag in her late mother’s Manhattan apartment. New York Police Department (NYPD) officials said they believe Vitel walked in on the suspected squatters in the apartment when they allegedly beat her to death.

Meanwhile, a family in Patchogue, New York, was living out of hotels after squatters moved into their home when they left town for a few months, according to a December 2023 report from News 12 Long Island.