Squatting in the United States

rdf:langString Squatting in the United States

rdf:langString Squatting in the United States is the unauthorized use of real estate. Historically, squatting occurred during the California Gold Rush and when colonial European settlers established land rights. There was squatting during the Great Depression in Hoovervilles and also during World War II. Shanty towns returned to the US after the Great Recession of 2007 to 2009 and in the 2010s, there have been increasing numbers of people squatting foreclosed homes using fraudulent documents. In some cases, a squatter may be able to obtain ownership of property through adverse possession. Squatting is illegal and squatters can be evicted for trespassing. A homesteading movement led by community organizations such as the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), Operation Homestead, Tacoma Housing Now and Take Back the Land has used squatting as a tactic to house homeless people. In New York City, squatters occupied 32 buildings on Manhattan's Lower East Side in the 1990s; the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB) then helped the squatters to legalize eleven buildings.