Squatters lose tenant rights under new state law following push by northeast Queens legislators
Apr. 26, 2024 By Iryna Shkurhan
New York homeowners have one less thing to worry about after squatters were stripped of their tenants rights in the recently passed state budget.
The law now reads “a tenant shall not include a squatter.” This will make it easier for police to remove squatters without forcing the owner to resolve the issue in housing court – a process that can take years and expensive legal fees.
The passage of the law in the state’s fiscal budget for 2025 can be attributed to two elected officials in northeast Queens, who introduced legislation earlier this month after seeing a rise in squatters cases across Queens.