Amitoj Chahal

Honors 1000
11/27/14
Paper 3
Squatting: A Problem Refusing to Leave
Earlier this year, when Sarah Hamilton was getting ready to put her Detroit home up for
sale, she ran into an unexpected nuisance (no, not bedbugs): squatters. Lynn Williams, the
squatter, had been living in Hamiltons home for the past couple weeks without the landlords
permission. Of course, Hamilton instantly called the police in the hopes of removing Williams
from her home. However, what happened next was a drastic turn of events: Hamilton was
arrested on Williams false claim that she was attacked; landowners are not allowed to physically
move or even touch squatters, as it is considered a form of assault.1 Squatting is a growing
problem in Detroits already damaged housing industry. By taking advantage of the system,
squatters are taking up residence in more and more unoccupied homes around the city,
encouraged by the fact that getting them out is not a simple task. Unfortunately, devoting law
enforcement to the effort is simply unviable: Detroits police force is significantly lacking
manpower and already has more than enough on its plate in terms of violent crimes. Squatting is
an unfair, constantly-exploited loophole and a threat to Detroits recovery that, through increased
awareness and better affordable housing options, can potentially be eradicated over time.

1 Fox News Detroit, The Americans with Charlie LeDuff: Squatting on the squatter Nov

The United States, since the end of the 19th century especially, has been the worldwide
entrepreneur in terms of redefining housing norms. For example, during the rise of suburban
neighborhoods during the mid-20th century, people tended to move out of the city but returned to
it only for work. This was made largely possible by the exponential growth of the automotive
industry, as it provided the average, middle-class citizen the means to commute. Thus,
suburbanizing flourished in Detroit and its suburbs.2 Over time, this produced detrimental effects
for municipal housing. As people moved out, property values started to drop. Slowly but surely,
this accumulated over the next couple of decades. The accrued effects of suburbanization
undoubtedly had a role the Housing Market Crash in the 2000s. Detroit was hit especially hard
by the crash, exemplified by the fact that in February 2008, the Detroit/Livonia/Dearborn area
had the highest foreclosure rate in the entire United States: a whopping 4.9%.3 As property
values and qualities of life plummeted, people living in the city naturally moved out in the early
21st century. However, due to the fact that their homes were currently worth a fraction of initial
costs, homeowners decided not to sell and instead simply vacated their properties. Consequently,
squatting flourished.
Due to previous squatters laws, these illegal residents were given almost as much right
to a property as the people who owned the deed. Other, unofficial rules existed as well, like the
possibility to take advantage of the perception that the squatters are needy and deserving by
choosing empty buildings belonging to owners who have a (moral) obligation to house the needy
and would therefore be embarrassed to be seen evicting squatters.4 Squatters knew of the power
they possessed and consequently many abused and exploited it. Since evicting squatters was a

2
3
4

Witold Rybczynski, City Life, 173-175

Ben Rooney, Rust and Belt cities lead 07 foreclosures, Feb 13, 2008
PRUIJT, H. (2013), The Logic of Urban Squatting. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 37: 1945

lengthy and costly project, simply putting up a fight allowed some people to essentially take over
others homes for free! Obviously, continuing with the current legislation would inevitably
cause a plethora of problems for the city. So, movements for new laws regarding squatting were
actively pursued.
The peoples efforts were not in vain; in September 2014, the state of Michigan passed
three new statutes specifically addressing squatting and trespassing.5 Basically, in the past, an
eviction was needed to remove occupants even if they did not have a valid lease. Now, landlords
are allowed to change locks and remove belongings themselves to initiate the eviction process.
However, just like before, no physical force is allowed to be used. Furthermore, squatting is now
officially a crime with a potential fine and prison sentence upon the first offense. Finally, second
and subsequent squatting offenses can be classified as felonies.5 This new legislation obviously
will not immediately eradicate squatting, if ever. Instead, it expedites the eviction process,
hopefully curtailing the benefits for squatters as they can now be ejected more easily as well as
face criminal consequences for their actions. Unfortunately, squatting continues to be a
significant problem due partially to homeowners lack of knowledge on the new laws and a
shortage of strict enforcement and thus a lower number of convictions.
Since judicial intervention seems to be inefficient at solving the problem, the city of
Detroit has turned toward alternative solutions. The squatting epidemic is unique in that it has
two seemingly-unrelated organizations behind its cause: affordable housing developers and the
media. Ginosko Development has partnered with The Great Lakes Capital Fund and Cass
Corridor Neighborhood Development for a $17 million project which is rehabbing two vacant
buildings that sit in the Cass-Davenport Historic District. This project, which was finalized on
5

Sarah Cox, There are some new squatters laws on the books in Michigan, Aug 18, 2014

April 24th, 2014, is one of the main affordable housing acts in the city of Detroit.6 The goal is to
provide an inexpensive apartment option to the people in an effort to reduce the homeless
population. Ideally, squatters will flock towards said apartments, as it is a viable option in the
long term. This differs from First Lady Eleanor Roosevelts replacement of dilapidated shacks
with new public housing. This did not turn out well, however, as the new homes were even
poorer due to the fact that people were moved out in the name of the construction.7
Contemporary projects will succeed, though, due to the fact that these buildings are already
vacant and have been for decades. This is in combination with the fact that new regulations have
made squatting less effective and plausible.
As previously mentioned, some of the main reasons as to why squatting is not even close
to being eradicated in Detroit is the homeowners lack of awareness of the newly-appointed
powers they possess and the public not knowing how big of a problem squatting truly is. The
news media has decided to take a positive step forward; Fox News in Detroit and other news
stations are regularly conducting stories on squatters and homeowners in an attempt to bring
justice for the landlords and awareness to the people simultaneously. For example, in the abovementioned case regarding Sarah Hamilton and Lynn Williams, Fox News initially aired a
segment to broadcast Hamiltons story. It emphasized how irrational and unjustifiable it is for a
homeowner to get arrested while trying to maintain possession of their own home. The end of the
segment restated the fact that Lynn Williams, the squatter, is not even close to being evicted and
comfortably lives in another womans home and shows no sign of leaving.8 Any person who
watches this segment would be moved by how such an unfair and unjust thing can happen in
6

David Muller, $17 million Midtown Detroit affordable housing project to rehab buildings empty for decades,
April 24, 2014
7
Scott Martelle, Detroit, 133
8
Fox News Detroit, Homeowner wants to sell house but says squatter wont leave, Oct 25, 2014

America a true failure on the part of the judicial system. Furthermore, a follow-up episode
featuring Charlie LeDuff, a reporter known for putting matters into his own hands, shows LeDuff
teaming up with Hamilton and her lawyer to try and retain possession of her property. LeDuff,
based on the fact that Williams had moved in with no legal authority to do so, essentially did the
same. The squatter technically could not refuse. When she did, the police were called and
Hamilton was arrested since squatting has been recently classified as a crime due to violating
her probation.9 Though it only solved one of the countless squatting problems in the city, the
segments by Fox News showed the public that defeating squatters was possible. This brings
confidence to homeowners as they will realize that defending their property will not be as long,
tiresome and costly as before. The efforts of the media continue to shine light on the problem in
the hopes of bringing awareness to the growing problem and eventually stopping it to a halt.
The problem with legislation against squatting is that the government has a significant
motive to introduce laws that benefit squatters, especially in crime-ridden cities like Detroit.
Legislation that promotes the squatter mentality that they may get land in the future through
legal means because, as government reasoning goes, they are less likely to break the law
today.10 Basically, to avoid squatters committing other, possibly more dangerous crimes to find
housing, governments have tended to create squatter-friendly laws. This in turn has had
tremendous adverse effects the eviction process. To battle the problem in a means other than
legislation, affordable housing can prove to be beneficial. Projects like the one currently
underway in the Cass-Davenport district will provide viable housing options for potential
squatters. Not only does this prevent squatting, but it also aids in Detroits recovery. However,
projects like these can be expensive ($17 million dollars, for example, which had to be funded by
9

Fox News Detroit, The Americans with Charlie LeDuff: Squatting on the squatter Nov
Anders Corr, No Trespassing!, 22

10

multiple partners) and thus difficult to continually create. Unfortunately, due to the current state
of housing in Detroit, the probability that such projects end up being economically viable is
threatened, therefore reducing the chance that even more will be started.
In terms of media, the awareness that it is bringing to the people of Detroit is
unquestionably invaluable. By showing a direct example of how to reclaim property, the media is
portraying its involvement with the community and its devotion to a better future. This will
indefinitely promote others to at least attempt to defeat squatters. The limitation to news media
involvement is primarily the fact that it can only set an example and not make a significant
difference in terms of number of homes successfully reclaimed. A news story on just one home
takes up a lot of resources and time. In the end, the news station is a business and businesses
must make money. So, if they were to show only squatters day after day, viewer numbers would
decline to repetitiveness, which can prove detrimental to the company. Therefore, it is important
for news stations to keep squatter-related stories circulating, but not to overdo it. As soon as
coverage ends, people will no longer pay attention to the problem as they may believe it has been
resolved. Thus, it is important to keep it relevant.
All in all, squatting is a growing problem in Detroit that can be eventually eliminated if
proper actions are taken. The recent reformations of squatters laws have provided a starting
point in terms of finding a solution. Since homeowners now have more arguably-deserved rights
to their properties, evicting squatters has become slightly easier. However, it is important to keep
in mind that legislation alone cannot achieve this goal: affordable housing projects as well as
awareness of the issue (especially via news media) are just if not more important. Detroit must
effectively harness the possibilities that come from combining all three of these avenues for
success if it wants a practical, long term solution. Otherwise, it is here for good

Works Cited
"The Americans with Charlie LeDuff: Squatting on the Squatter." - Fox 2 News Headlines. Fox
News, 5 Nov. 2014. Web. 27 Nov. 2014.

Corr, Anders. No Trespassing!: Squatting, Rent Strikes, and Land Struggles Worldwide.
Cambridge, MA: South End, 1999. 22. Print.
Cox, Sarah. "There Are Some New Squatters Laws on the Books in Michigan." Curbed Detroit.
Curbed, 18 Aug. 2014. Web. 01 Dec. 2014.
PRUIJT, H. (2013), The Logic of Urban Squatting. International Journal of Urban and Regional
Research, 37
David, Muller. "$17 Million Midtown Detroit Affordable Housing Project to Rehab Buildings
Empty for Decades." MLive.com. MLive, 24 Apr. 2014. Web. 01 Dec. 2014.
"Homeowner Wants to Sell House but Says Squatter Won't Leave." - Fox 2 News Headlines. Fox
News, 25 Oct. 2014. Web. 01 Dec. 2014.
Martelle, Scott. Detroit: A Biography. Chicago, IL: Chicago Review, 2012. 133. Print.
Rooney, Ben. "Rust and Sun Belt Cities Lead '07 Foreclosures." CNNMoney. Cable News
Network, 13 Feb. 2008. Web. 01 Dec. 2014.
Rybczynski, Witold. City Life: Urban Expectations in a New World. New York: Scribner, 1995.
173-75. Print.