Squatting in the United States

Squatting

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Squatting is the act of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential,^[1] that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use. According to author Robert Neuwirth, there are one billion squatters globally, that is, about one in every seven people on the planet.^[2] Yet, according to Kesia Reeve, "squatting is largely absent from policy and academic debate and is rarely conceptualized, as a problem, as a symptom, or as a social or housing movement."^[3]

United States of America

In the United States, squatting laws vary from state to state and city to city. For the most part, it is rarely tolerated to any degree for long, particularly in cities.^[50] There have been a few exceptions, notably in 2002 when the New York City administration agreed to turn over 11 buildings in the Lower East Side, which had been squatted in, to an established non-profit, on the condition that the apartments would later be turned over to the tenants as low-income housing cooperatives.^[51]

Occupancy Issues

Laws based on a contract-ownership interpretation of property make it easy for deed holders to evict squatters under loitering or trespassing laws.^[24] The situation is more complicated for legal residents who fail to make rent or mortgage payments, but the result is largely the same.

Most squatting in the US is dependent on law enforcement, and the person legally considered to be the owner of the property being unaware of the occupants. Often, the most important factors in the longevity of squats in the US are apathy of the owner and the likeliness of neighbors to call the police. This was not always the case, particularly in the era of Westward expansion, wherein the federal government specifically recognized the rights of squatters. For example, see the Preemption Act of 1841.

Legal Protections

The United States Homestead Act legally recognized the concept of homesteading and distinguished it from squatting, since it gave homesteaders permission to occupy unclaimed lands. Additionally, US states that have a shortage of housing tend to tolerate squatters in property awaiting redevelopment until the developer is ready to begin work. However, at that point, the laws tend to be enforced.^{[citation needed]} The Homestead Act of 1862 was signed by Abraham Lincoln on May 20 and sought to reallocate unsettled land in the West. The law applied to U.S. citizens and prospective citizens that had never borne arms against the U.S. government. It required a five-year commitment, during which time the homesteader had to build a twelve-by-fourteen foot dwelling, develop the 160-acre plot of land allocated, and generally better the condition of the unsettled property. After five years of positively contributing to the land, the homesteader could file for the deed to the property, which entailed sending paperwork to the General Land Office in Washington, D.C., and from there, "valid claims were granted patent free and clear".^[52] Moreover, there were loopholes to this law, including provisions made for those serving in the U.S. military. After the Civil War, Union veterans could deduct time served in the army from the five-year homesteader requirement.

In common law, through the legally recognized concept of adverse possession, a squatter can become a bona fide owner of property without compensation to the owner. Adverse possession is the process by which one acquires the title to a piece of land by occupying it for the number of years necessary, dictated differently by each state. A necessary component of this transfer of ownership requires that the landowner is aware of the land occupation and does nothing to put an end to it. If the land use by the new occupant goes unchecked for the said number of years, the new occupant can claim legal rights to the title of the land. The occupant must show that the "possession is actual, open, notorious, exclusive, hostile, under cover of claim or right, and continuous and uninterrupted for the statutory period."^[53]As Erin Wiegand notes, the most difficult part of claiming adverse possession on the part of squatters is the continuous part. Squatting is a very transient lifestyle and many are evicted on a frequent basis. ^[54] In an article regarding recent foreclosures in the United States, a current squatter in Miami stated of her housing, "It's a beautiful castle and it's temporary for me, if I can be here twenty-four hours, I'm thankful."^[55] Thus, while adverse possession allows for the legality of a squatter's situation, it is not easy to win a case of adverse possession.

Types of Squats

Squats used for living in can be divided into two types (although they are not absolutes): so-called "back-window squats" (the most common type^{[citation needed]}, in which occupants sneak in and out of the building with the intent of hiding that they live there) and "front-door squats" (where the occupants make little or no effort to conceal their comings and goings). Many squats may start out as one or the other and then change over time. Frequently, squatters will move in and then later assess how open they can be about their activities before they approach the neighbors; others will not move into a place until they have first met and discussed the idea with the neighbors. The difference between the two types can be signs of vast differences in philosophies of squatting and its purpose, how long the occupants plan to be around, and on the atmosphere of the neighborhood, among many other factors.

Squatters can be young people living in punk houses or low-income or homeless people.

Non-profit Advocacy

There are non-profit advocacy groups in existence in many cities throughout the U.S. These groups give organizational backing and political power to the plight of squatters. The nonprofits also assist the squatters to have the work on improving their apartments legitimized, or approved by the appropriate local authority. In New York City, the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board was at the forefront of a homesteading movement in the 1970s and 1980s, and more recently liaised with the city to legitimize the efforts of squatters in 11 buildings in the Lower East Side.^[51] Although the New York City government had previously forcibly removed many squatters in the 1990s, in 2002 it agreed to sell these 11 buildings for $1 each to UHAB. The buildings were to be brought up to code by the squatters (with UHAB's assistance) and then the apartments were bought for $250 each and the buildings converted to affordable cooperatives by the former squatters ^[51].

Take Back the Land is a Miami-based self-proclaimed housing liberation group that formed in 2006. They break into vacant, unused bank-owned foreclosed homes and move homeless people inside.^[56] Take Back the Land organized a shantytown called the Umoja Village to squat a vacant lot in 2006 and 2007. ^[57]

A group called Homes Not Jails advocates squatting houses to end the problem of homelessness. It has opened "about 500 houses, 95% of which have lasted six months or less. In a few cases, [these] squats have lasted for two, three or even six years."^[20]

In Minnesota, a group known as the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign has relocated families into thirteen empty properties, and one national organizer likened the advocacy and service work of her group to "a modern-day underground railroad".^[55]

The Movement

In addition to these advocacy groups, there are a number of useful websites that provide squatters with information on how to go about setting up a squat.

Squat!net is an internationally contributed-to website that provides squatters with tips on how to squat and possible open properties on which to do it.

Additionally, some squatters use the internet as a safe space in which to share information. An Australian-based community of squatters, SquatSpace, developed a comprehensive website after being forced underground with the eviction of the Broadway Squats in South Sydney. The website features anonymous postings of squatter art exhibits and protests in the Sydney area and provides a virtual space for those without a physical community space. There are also numerous squatter blogs and blogs about how to squat, including one from author Robert Neuwirth.

California Gold Rush

When gold was discovered in California in January 1848, it resulted in a flood of treasure seekers entering the state, just two weeks after it was ceded to the United States from Mexico. Due to the ambiguity in existing law regarding squatting federal land, individual mining camps had to develop squatting laws to fill the legal void.

New York City

In New York City, homeless people squatting in underground spaces such as Freedom Tunnel have come to be known as Mole People. They were the subject of an award-winning documentary called Dark Days.

It is estimated that in the 1990s, there were between 500 and 1,000 squatters occupying 32 buildings on Manhattan's Lower East Side. The buildings had been abandoned as a result of speculation by owners or police raids as part of a crackdown on drug use.^[58] As the area became gentrified, the squats were evicted, Dos Blockos being one. Three buildings on 13th Street were evicted without notification following a prolonged legal battle in which the squatters argued through their lawyer Stanley Cohen that they were entitled to ownership of the buildings through adverse possession since they had lived there since 1983.^[59]

In 1995, a preliminary injunction had been granted against the eviction plans, but this was overturned by state appellate.^[60]

Despite squatting being illegal, artists had begun to squat buildings to live in and use as atelier space^{[clarification needed]}. European squatters coming to New York brought ideas of cooperative living with them such as a bar, support between squats, and tool exchange.^[24]

In 2002, eleven squats out of the twelve remaining on the Lower East Side signed a deal with the city council brokered by the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board. In this project, UHAB bought the buildings for $1 each and agreed to assist the squatters to undertake essential renovation work, after which their apartments could be bought for $250 each. UHAB would also train them in running low-income limited-equity housing cooperatives.^[58] After prices peaked from the housing boom, several of the squatters told press that they wanted out of the contract so they could be allowed to sell their units at market rate prices. No such arrangements have been made, but some squatters are challenging the contract and believe adverse possession protects their ownership claim.^[61]

The first squat to completed co-op conversion in May of 2009 is Bullet Space, an artists' gallery and residence at 292 E. 3rd St. ^[62] Another is C-Squat; as well as social center ABC No Rio, which was founded in 1980.