Judge Orders Homeowner to Leave House After Fight With ‘Squatters’

A judge has ordered a homeowner in Kentucky to vacate his home after a fight with alleged squatters who refused to leave the property, and Newsweek spoke to experts about the seemingly growing squatter problem.
Across the country, reports of squatters are rising as many homeowners feel their rights have been limited since the pandemic and a surge of tenant protections.
The American Apartment Owners Association defines squatters as individuals who inhabit a piece or land or building without a legal right to live there. In many states, squatters gain tenant rights after just 30 days of staying in a property they have no legal right to.
In Louisville, Kentucky, Daniel Toma told local station WSAZ 3 that he’s been kicked out of his own home after a group of “squatters” overstayed their welcome.
He initially let them stay in his garage while they fixed their car, but they now refuse to leave three months later.
“I just want this nightmare to end. I’ve been homeless the last few days,” Toma told WSAZ 3.
The reported squatters were Toma’s friends Amy Davis and her boyfriend, Tyler Sencuk. But the duo is said to have quickly taken advantage of Toma’s kindness in letting them stay at his home.
“[They] were working on the car for days in the driveway, I didn’t want to throw them out on the street. I was just trying to be kind,” Toma said.
The couple first moved in the middle of July, eventually decided to stay long-term without Toma’s permission, and even transferred their mail and had Spectrum cable installed.
To Toma’s shock, they changed the lock on the garage despite never entering a rental agreement.
“I asked them to go, my roommates asked them to go, but they wouldn’t leave. We tried to tell them to leave. He [Sencuk] started saying [they] had squatters’ rights,” Toma said.
Sencuk told the local publication that he was performing maintenance work in the house for rent, but Toma said this was not the case.
While Toma finally posted a 30-day eviction notice around Labor Day for the couple to leave, the notice escalated into a fight between Sencuk and one of Toma’s roommates.
Sencuk then filed an emergency protective order against Toma, which now requires him to stay 500 people away from him. That effectively left Toma homeless.
“Unfortunately, what is occurring here is all too common when it comes to squatters in the United States,” Ryan McCall, principal with McCall Sweeney & Silva, PC and an expert in eviction law, told Newsweek.
“Almost every state has its own individual laws regarding Squatters. Unfortunately, once a squatter is able to assert their rights, they often can resort to filing criminal reports against the actual Homeowner to temporarily remove them from the property.”
Now, Toma is without a roof over his own head.
“I feel like I have no power. I feel like I have no rights,” Toma said.
When tenants overstay their welcome, they can quickly amass squatter’s rights, depending on what state they live in and their local laws.
“Parties in possession of real property can often be complex situations, especially when one party is trying to take advantage of another,” title and escrow expert Alan Chang told Newsweek.
“There are literally instruction manuals on how to game the system when it comes to squatting and property rights. More and more of the population know how to win, at least in the short term, when it comes to squatting.”
While sometimes the squatters are just buying time because they’re financially challenged, others strategically plot to take advantage of homeowners like Toma, Chang said.
“I need to take care of things and I want to sleep in my own bed,” Toma said.
Chang recommends that all homeowners have a legal and compliant agreement drafted between them and anyone they allow to stay in their house.
“It is not worth saving a few dollars using a free online form that could cost you months or years of time and money,” Chang said, adding that things get more complicated once another party has possession of your property.
“It is best to limit your exposure to that area of risk by keeping your premises secure and in your control. If you are going out of town, have a friend or neighbor visit and maintain the premises, if possible.”