States scramble to close legal loopholes squatters use to take homes from owners

Lawmakers in states across the country are belatedly moving to restore the property rights of owners who have been forced into lengthy and often costly court battles to reclaim their houses from squatters exploiting pandemic-era tenant protections to take over empty houses.

Now state lawmakers are reclassifying those self-proclaimed “tenants” as intruders and giving homeowners more tools to protect their property.

“People are afraid … especially our elderly constituents,” said Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, a New York state senator who represents parts of Staten Island and Brooklyn. “We have a lot of constituents who maybe go to Florida for a month or so in the winter, they’re afraid to leave their home behind. Some people have even brought up that they get worried about having a visitor for an extended period of time if it’s not a family member who they really trust.”

Ms. Scarcella-Spanton was among those lawmakers pushing to disassociate the terms “squatter” and “tenant” so the intruders would lose major legal protections.

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