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| -Lurid Crime Tales- |
| Squatting Isn't a Housing Policy. It's Property Theft |
| 2026-01-15 |
| [National Review] It’s appalling that half of the nation’s states still treat stealing a home as a civil offense. Jalen Absolum grew up in a house poisoned with lead paint in Philadelphia. He won in a lawsuit against the landlord and used the proceeds to buy a home in Baltimore. He was hoping to bring his family south for a fresh start. In October last year, Absolum, age 18, finally got to visit the $115,000 home. But as he approached it, he realized something was wrong — someone was already living in the house. Absolum called the police, who told him there was nothing they could do. The family living in the house had been scammed into believing they were renting it, and Absolum would have to go to court to evict the squatters. "He was a victim once, and he’s a victim again," his mother, Avril Absolum, told the Baltimore Banner in an article published this week. "He did the right thing. And there were people in his house." The case is pending in court, and Absolum still has not moved into his home. Back in 2024, when "squatting" was having a moment, Republican governors such as Georgia’s Brian Kemp and Florida’s Ron DeSantis signed legislation making it much easier to evict people who took up residence either in people’s homes or in vacant buildings. Yet for around half the country, squatting is still only a civil matter; if a vacationing family returns home to find someone has moved into their residence, it could be months or years before they are able to expel the interlopers. And stricter laws don’t necessarily work; just last year, Maryland passed a revision to its landlord laws, but that didn’t help Absolum when his home was stolen. In December, a $2.3 million Bethesda home was commandeered, leaving neighbors confused and frustrated. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #1 |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2026-01-15 08:09 |