Title
Authorizing the Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development, and the Homeless to hold hearings to discuss the impact of squatting in Philadelphia, the victims of squatting and additional measures and best practices to prevent squatting.
Body
WHEREAS, Squatting is typically defined as the "unlawful occupancy of an uninhabited building"; and
WHEREAS, This resolution is not discussing what is traditionally referred to as "squatting", where a person occupies an abandoned building that has been uninhabited for an extended length of time, but rather persons who break into homes that are currently occupied or are currently in transition to be occupied; and
WHEREAS, The type of squatting this resolution is discussing can be readily defined as criminal trespassing, found in the Pennsylvania State Law under Title 18 § 3503 Criminal Trespass; and
WHEREAS, Illegal possession of residential properties, commonly known as squatting, is a public safety concern for the citizens of Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, This practice and the negative consequences that arise from it have been covered extensively in recent years by local media, including ABC, NBC and Philadelphia Magazine; and
WHEREAS, Squatters often break into empty houses, or even homes that are currently occupied, changing the locks on the house, and may even barricade the home refusing to leave; and
WHEREAS, Squatters may produce and use fraudulent titles and leasing documents, pay for monthly utilities, and handle maintenance and landscaping matters of a titled property; and
WHEREAS, This illegal behavior puts the owner and the community in an arduous position, as they are unable to remove the squatters from their property without calling the police; and
WHEREAS, Officers of the Philadelphia Police Department are unable to verify the legality of a fraudulent and forged title or leasing document on the scene; and
WHEREAS, Individuals wishing to remove squatters from their property...
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