White House Calls on Local Governments To Address Squatting Following Recent String of Incidents

Becoming Squatters, How Life Can Suddenly Change — (Photo : Jasper Juinen/Getty Images) SEVILLE, SPAIN - JUNE 01: Thirty-three year old Vanessa Arias Fernandez (L), who were evicted from her home together with her family, sits in the living room with her children, seven-year-old Yeray and her five-year-old twins Kiomara and Tatiana, lit by the yellow street lights, at her apartment, which is part of a complex occupied by the Corrala Utopia community on June 1, 2013 in Seville, Spain.In 2010 Spanish banks foreclosed more than 100,000 households which contributed to the already large number of empty houses. With as many as one million properties unsold, victims of Spain's financial crisis, struggling to keep a roof over their head due to high levels of unemployment and severe cuts to social welfare, have turned to squatting in the empty buildings. The Corrala Utopia is a community, on a steadily growing list of communities all over Spain, living in squatted buildings. In this case the building stood empty for three years before the squatters moved in almost a year ago. The community houses a total of 36 families including almost 40 children. The families are cut off from water and electricity and live with an uncertain future and the fear of being evicted soon again. For the first time in history over 6 million Spaniards are jobless in Spain, the euro zone's fourth-biggest economy.

The White House on Monday called on local governments to take action and address squatting in their areas following a recent string of incidents.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was recently asked where President Joe Biden stands on the recent trend of squatting and whether Americans need to be worried about squatters. In response, Jean-Pierre said squatting is a "local issue" and called local governments to "take action."

"My understanding is that this is obviously a local issue. We are certainly tracking that issue," she told Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy, who raised the issue. "The rights of property owners and renters must be protected. And we believe that ultimately what needs to happen is that the local government needs to make sure that they address this, and they take action."

Jean-Pierre was also asked whether President Biden would sign into law legislation that would allow homeowners to call law enforcement on squatters. However, Jean-Pierre said she refused to address "hypotheticals" and emphasized that it is a "local issue."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last week signed a new law that would allow homeowners to file a complaint to local law enforcement and have squatters immediately removed from their homes if they are unable to produce document authorizing their residency. The law would also allow law enforcement officers to file misdemeanor or felony charges against the squatters. The law will take effect on July 1.

Squatting in the U.S.

The White House's statement comes after a string of squatting incidents made headlines over the past weeks.

Earlier this week, a pair of alleged squatters in New York City reportedly sued the rightful owners of a $930,000 investment home they took over. The squatters were removed from the property by police officers after they failed to provide proof that they had stayed there since January. In the state of New York, tenants would only need to stay in a property for 30 days to claim rights.

Last Wednesday, the NYPD arrested eight gun-toting migrant squatters who took over the basement of a building in the Bronx. Officers searched the apartment and found two more guns, a bag of ketamine, and a bag of ketamine mixed with cocaine. Cops later talked to the building owner who said he didn't know any of the squatters living in the basement, adding that he originally rented to a man named Eduardo, per the New York Post.