Squatters are reportedly being granted ownership of unoccupied homes even though they do not have titles or deeds to these properties, thanks to so-called adverse possession laws.
The Western Journal outlined one such case involving the late Colin Curtis. Colin’s mother Doris, who died in the 1980s, owned a semi-detached house in East London’s Newbury Park. She left this property to Colin, who moved out in 1996 to live in another inherited property. Even though Colin did not live in the Newbury Park house, he continued paying taxes for it.
Enter Keith Best, who noticed the vacant house in 1997 and began renovation work on it. He spent about $188,000 renovating the three-bedroom house and subsequently moved in with his family in 2012.
Best then filed an adverse possession claim to become the registered owner. Under the adverse possession law, a squatter occupying a property openly for an extended period – often 10 to 20 years – can be legally awarded the said property. Colin then challenged the claim in court in 2012, but failed in his attempt due to insufficient legal grounds as the property’s registered executor because his mother had not made a will.
A magistrate at the High Court of Justice in London overturned an initial ownership rejection and ruled in Best’s favor. They argued that while the squatter had occupied the Newbury Park property without permission, he had demonstrated visible control of the house since 1997. Moreover, Best’s illegal occupation of the house met the legal period threshold.
Curtis passed away in 2018 after six years of battling the claim in court. At the time of his death, he had been living on about $321 a week from his state pension and tax credits.
Best then sold the inherited family house for almost $665,000 in 2020, according to the Metro tabloid. Despite squatting on a property that he did not own, he even had the audacity to paint himself as the victim.
“I’ve been portrayed as a thief who cheated an old man out of his home,” he lamented. “I went to court eight times over the house, I was sick of it by the end.”
Squatters are also a problem in America
The problem of squatters isn’t limited to the U.K., as they can also be found across the pond. A March 2023 story by Fox News expounded on this issue.
One resident, Darthula Young, complained of how her late mother’s property in Chicago’s Chatham neighborhood was occupied by a “professional squatter.” This “professional squatter” who had a long rap sheet changed the locks and racked up a $1,300 water bill that was charged to her.
Another resident, Karen Polk, said a family had moved into her late mother’s property. She only discovered the family’s occupancy while preparing the property for sale. According to the family who illegally occupied the home, they had signed a lease and paid rent upfront to a third person Polk didn’t know. (Related: Homeless people INVADE city of Casper, Wyoming, taking over vacant motel.)
The Fox News piece also recounted the case of Burton Banks, who fell victim to the adverse possession law. He inherited a parcel of land in Delaware given to him by his late father, which Banks tried to sell in 2021. However, he learned that his neighbor Melissa Schrock had erected a goat pen on the property and had been using roughly two-thirds of an acre.
Banks then challenged Schrock’s illegal occupancy in court, but a judge ruled against him based on the adverse possession law. The judge argued that the parcel of land worth $125,000 was now owned by Schrock, who had been using the property for the 20-year threshold.
Writing for the Western Journal, conservative author Rachel Emmanuel warned of the squatting problem. “Authorities in many states … may side with scheming squatters over inheritors or owners of empty homes,” she lamented.
“It feels like we’re living in the Wild West where squatter takes all. With more laws protecting criminals rather than homeowners, it’s important to be vigilant and protect your own property – because if you lose it, most likely, you’re on your own.”
Head over to HomelessAgenda.com for similar stories.
Watch this episode of the “Sons of Liberty” podcast about illegals squatting on American soil.
