A Pennsylvania man must pay squatters $1,200 to leave his home after police told him they couldn't intervene and court officials said formal eviction could take more than six months. He said he had no choice but to do so.
“It's unbelievable,” Chris Hart said. “Essentially, the city is giving a bounty to criminals.”
Hart first spoke to Fox News in December, just days after his story began. He was in the process of selling a renovated investment property in northwest Philadelphia.
But on Dec. 8, Hart's real estate agent received a call from someone who lived near the house. She said she heard a commotion the night before and then saw people move into the house and take down “for sale” signs.
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Chris Hart, 35, bought an investment property in northwest Philadelphia last year. After making extensive renovations, he put it up for sale, only to be invaded by squatters. (Photo provided by Chris Hart)
Hart called police because he was picking up his children from school and then had to pick up his wife from the airport. Officers went to the home and called back to say there were people trying to get a new lock on the front door.
Hart said he was told by officers that nothing could be done because the occupants of the home claimed to be renting it.
The next morning, Hart, his real estate agent, and a locksmith met with police at his home, with similarly disappointing results.
“I had all the paperwork, the sales contract, the homeowner's insurance, the title to the house, everything. They said it didn't matter,” Hart said.
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Hart said the suspects had squatter rights as soon as they moved into the home, and police suggested they file a landlord-tenant complaint. Court officials said people must pay more than $300 to file for eviction of alleged squatters, which could take up to a year.
“Squatter rights… it's kind of an oxymoron,” he said. “If I went into a store and stole a water bottle, they would put me on camera and take me to jail. But someone could break into my house and change the locks. They can, and now they have the right.”
'Unbelievable': Homeowners must pay squatters for eviction:
Asked about the incident, Philadelphia police told Fox News only that the property owner had been “advised on tenant-landlord issues,” and no arrests were made.
“Police say they get three or four calls a day like this,” real estate agent Bob Selborn told Fox News. “I had certainly heard from other agents and landlords that things like this had happened, but this was a new experience for me.”
A few days later, Hart said, the squatters approached Selborne to arrange a meeting. They said they had found somewhere else to live and would leave if Hart gave them $2,000. He said it was too much, but after he walked through the house, he ended up paying them $1,200.
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“The house was very dirty, there was trash everywhere,” he said. “Fortunately there was no damage.”
The squatters left. He quickly changed the locks and hired a cleaner. All told, he estimates the incident cost him $2,000 in damages and endless stress while he was on vacation until the sale was finally closed last week.
“I had no peace of mind after that,” he said. “I had to keep driving there every day to make sure no one was breaking in.”
Philadelphia residents have struggled for years to recover property from squatters. City leaders have passed at least two ordinances in recent years to address the problem, but homeowners are frustrated they haven't seen improvement. (Joseph Sohm/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
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In recent years, people across the country have been embroiled in costly legal battles to recover property from squatters, and Philadelphia has been particularly hard hit.
In 2018, the city passed an ordinance aimed at making it easier to remove squatters. But just a few months later, City Councilmember Sherrell L. Parker (now mayor) introduced a replacement bill that would “essentially eliminate all protections for homeowners,” according to former City Councilmember David Orr. he told Fox News last year.
Mayor Parker recently gave his inaugural address, announcing a series of initiatives for his first 100 days in office, including strengthening the police force and restoring a “sense of legitimacy” to the city. His office did not respond to Fox News' questions about whether fighting illegal occupation would be part of that plan.
“It's just ridiculous,” Hart said of Philadelphia's political situation. “They don’t help investors like me who want to improve the city, who want to buy and fix up houses, and who want to make the city a safer, nicer-looking neighborhood.”
Although Hart doesn't identify strongly with either side of the political spectrum, he says Philadelphia is a “Democratic-run city,” and there are “pretty clear connections between this leadership and crime in cities across the country.” He said he believes there is a correlation.
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“We need different politicians,” he said. “I think their policies are terrible and are destroying many cities across America, and Philadelphia is one of them.”
Click here to learn more about Harte.
