I don’t know much about American laws, and I strongly believe that basic housing should not be for-profit.
With those caveats, if a house is empty for such a long time that squatters can claim it (7-20 years according to Google), then I think it’s not only okay to claim residence there, I think it’s the morally correct thing to do.
Obviously, there are exceptions to anything, but generally speaking, it sounds like society could use more of this.
On the other hand, I can’t imagine they’ve only been “vacant” for 6 months or something.
Again, I’m far from an expert on American law - much less on a state-by-state basis, but I have to think you’d need to live there for quite some time for it to count for squatters rights.
In these situations 6 months is exactly what I’d imagine. Where I live I can’t imagine any house staying vacant for 6 months. It costs more to rent a house here than it does to buy one. My mortgage payment is $1400/month, but I could rent my house for over $3k a month. it’s ridiculous.
I don’t know much about American laws, and I strongly believe that basic housing should not be for-profit.
With those caveats, if a house is empty for such a long time that squatters can claim it (7-20 years according to Google), then I think it’s not only okay to claim residence there, I think it’s the morally correct thing to do.
Obviously, there are exceptions to anything, but generally speaking, it sounds like society could use more of this.
i HIGHLY doubt the houses being referenced in the article have been vacant for 7-20 years.
On the other hand, I can’t imagine they’ve only been “vacant” for 6 months or something.
Again, I’m far from an expert on American law - much less on a state-by-state basis, but I have to think you’d need to live there for quite some time for it to count for squatters rights.
In these situations 6 months is exactly what I’d imagine. Where I live I can’t imagine any house staying vacant for 6 months. It costs more to rent a house here than it does to buy one. My mortgage payment is $1400/month, but I could rent my house for over $3k a month. it’s ridiculous.