Handyman delivers the state of squatting in 2023
A handyman who helps homeowners get rid of their squatters says America needs to work together to fix the problem before it reaches the point of no return.
A property owner in New York City was arrested after a standoff with a group of squatters who allegedly took over the woman's property following her parents' deaths.
"It’s enraging," Adele Andaloro told ABC 7. "It’s not fair that I, as the homeowner, have to be going through this."
Andaloro was recently arrested on her property in Flushing, Queens, after changing the locks on the home. Andaloro, 47, said she inherited the $1 million home from her parents after they died.
She put the home on the market last month, which is when she realized alleged squatters moved into the property and changed the locks, according to the outlet.
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This home in Flushing, Queens, was reportedly taken over by squatters. (Google Maps)
The saga recently came to a head when Andaloro met up with ABC 7 for an interview outside the property and found that a woman who was living in the house had left the front door open. Andaloro and the film crew stepped inside, where the homeowner pointed out her belongings that were being used by the allegedly illegal tenants and found two men inside the home.
"This is proving everything I said, this is my furniture, these are my curtains," Andaloro said on camera as she entered the home.
"Who are you, sir? Get out of my house," she is seen telling a sleeping man in one of the rooms in the house.
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The men reportedly called 911 on Andaloro as she called a locksmith to come over and change the locks on the reported squatters.
Police arrived on the scene and spoke with the alleged squatters, asking if they had proof they had been living in the home for more than 30 days. Under New York City law, a person can claim squatters' rights if they have lived in a home for more than 30 days.
This view shows the street in Flushing, Queens, New York City, where squatters reportedly took over a home. (Google Maps)
"By the time someone does their investigation, their work and their job, it will be over 30 days and this man will still be in my home," she said of the local law.
Andaloro was armed with the property's deed as police escorted the two men off the property for apparent failure to show they had been living on the property for at least 30 days. Before police left, they warned Andaloro she could face legal penalties if she changed the locks because it's illegal to turn off any utilities or change the locks of a home where someone says they are a tenant, ABC7 reported.
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"I may end up in handcuffs today if a man shows up here and says I have illegally evicted him," Andaloro said. "I said, 'Let him take me to court as I've been told to take him to court,' because today I'm not leaving my house."
(iStock)
Less than 10 minutes after the locks were changed, a man claiming to be on a lease for the home, identified as Brian Rodriguez, pushed through the home's door and police soon arrived at the home again, ABC 7 reported. Rodriguez was accompanied by another man who had just been escorted off the property by police moments earlier.
"Do you see this? This guy just literally broke down my door, broke through myself and my daughter," Andaloro said.
Police told the homeowner that "he can't be kicked out, you have to go to court" and arrested Andaloro for unlawful eviction over her changing the locks on the home, ABC 7 reported.
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Rodriguez told the outlet that he signed a lease for the home through a realtor but did not identify the realtor or provide a copy of the lease, according to ABC7. He did show the outlet various receipts and bills for work he claimed to have done to the home.
(Spencer Platt/Getty Images/File)
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He said he has no plans to leave the home unless Andaloro "pays" him for the work he put into the home or through court order.
"You got to go to court and send me to court," he said. "Pay me the money, and I'll leave, or send me to court. It's that simple."
Andaloro said she is now in the process of starting an eviction filing in landlord-tenant court. Eviction cases in New York City require an average of 20 months before the matter is settled, according to ABC 7.
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The squatting case follows other high-profile squatting incidents in the Big Apple, including a separate case in Queens where a couple and their child, who has Down syndrome, say they have been unable to move into their $2 million home due to a squatter.
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