What would you do if you came home and found someone you didn’t know living in your house?
I thought I would order the squatters to leave and if they resisted, I would call the police and they would kick me out.
mistaken.
Parent tenancy laws, passed by anti-capitalist politicians, now protect squatters. If a squatter lies about having a lease, the police won’t intervene.
“It’s a civil matter,” they would say. “Please resolve this in court.”
wonderful. The trial could cost $20,000. that’s all. And the courts are very slow and evictions can take years.
In New York state, where I live, homeowners can’t even turn off utilities when trying to evict squatters. It’s illegal. Even worse, a squatter is legally considered a tenant once he stays there for 30 days.
Earlier this month, New York City police arrested a homeowner on suspicion of “unlawful eviction” after changing the locks in an attempt to remove the squatter.
“Rights of Squash”, also known as “scramble” laws, currently exist in all 50 states. As a result, some people simply walk away because legally evicting squatters is so expensive and troublesome.
Flash Shelton might have a better idea.
His mother wanted to sell the house after his father passed away. But while they were selling it, squatters moved in.
Shelton did what I would have done, called the police. But he said there was nothing police could do.
So he tried a new tactic: forcing out the squatters.
“I thought, if they can take my house away, I can take my house away,” Shelton said in my new video. “I could come in as a squatter myself (and) own the land.”
After the home invader left for several hours, Shelton entered the home and changed the locks. Only then did the squatters leave.
Now, Shelton is starting a business and trying to help others get their homes back.
“People think of squatters as homeless and poor,” I say.
“They’re not homeless,” Shelton replies. “These are criminals…people who are taking advantage of the system.
In fact, one of the squatters he evicted was Adam Fleischman, who started the Umami Burger restaurant chain. Fleischman told Shelton, “I’m the victim here.” He also called the police.
“He felt that since he owned the house, he had the right to call law enforcement and remove me,” Shelton said.
I tried to talk to Fleischman. No luck.
“Where did you hear that he had the right to squat?” asks Shelton.
“The city told him this,” Shelton said.
But now Shelton was also protected by the same “tenant” protection laws because he was also a squatter.
Still, Adam Fleischman only left when Shelton threatened to bring a friend home as backup.
In Los Angeles, a woman claimed to be a “caretaker” for an elderly homeowner and didn’t want her in her home. So she gave Shelton a lease. While the squatters were out, Shelton changed her locks.
“But are the squatters still there?” asks Shelton.
“I’m still there,” he says. “I can’t get into the main house, so I’m climbing out the window.”
She has been there for 2 years!
Shelton said his team will move in and remove the squatters.
“How do I know it will work?” ask.
“Because once I get the property, she’s going to have to go to court again, which she probably won’t do,” Shelton says.
Why do squatters feel entitled to own someone else’s property?
Probably because people hate landowners. They listen to stupid people like Marxist New School professor Miguel Robles-Duran, who calls landlords “parasites” who “provide no social value.” Popular socialist Madeleine Pendleton on TikTok added that landlords “don’t have to work and have a guaranteed income forever.”
Don’t have the workforce? Who does she think will buy the land? She pays lawyers to decipher excessive regulations. She hires architects, carpenters, plumbers, and electricians. she pays taxes. Does she manage property etc.?
It’s infuriating!
I’m glad to see people like Flash Shelton fighting back.
Every Tuesday, Stossel posts a new video on JohnStossel.com about the battle between government and freedom. He is the author of Give Me a Break: How I Exposed Swindlers, Fraudsters, Fraudsters and the Liberal Media’s Scourge.
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