Media’s Squatter Sensation? Attorneys On Both Sides Call Coverage Overblown

“Tabloids,  talk shows, and  TikTok have recently been abuzz with tales of ‘squatters’ taking over New York City homes from unwitting landlords and refusing to leave. It’s a potential nightmare for a homeowner, who must then go to a judge to start a monthslong process to kick out the occupants,” reported WNYC’s Gothamist. “The stories are driving interest in housing court procedures and even inspiring new legislation, just as one of the city’s biggest landlords is suing the state court system to speed up evictions. But attorneys working for landlords and tenants in Queens say ‘squatters’ who break into a vacant home and refuse to leave are rare.”