Handyman turned squatter hunter outlines ‘nightmare scenario’ when migrants catch on to housing laws
Squatter hunter Flash Shelton is concerned that migrants will catch on to states' lenient tenants' rights laws and create a squatting crisis that is "beyond control."
A handyman-turned-squatter hunter is concerned that migrants entering the U.S. will catch on to states' lenient tenants' rights laws and create a squatting crisis that's "beyond control."
"We have masses coming in. They're going to be looking for places to live. And if we don't have the housing for them, if they're coming in with no money, they can't rent the traditional way," Flash Shelton, founder of the United Handyman Association and SquatterHunters.com, told Fox News. When they start finding out that many states have permissive laws for squatters, "our squatter situation is going to go beyond control," he added.
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Squatters and tenants' rights laws vary across the country, with some states providing protection for non-paying individuals, allowing them to occupy a property for extended periods. In areas where complex laws bar police from taking action, homeowners have few options to reclaim their property beyond pursuing a civil case, which can take months.
Shelton has advocated for reforming laws to hamper people's ability to squat and warned that the influx of migrants coming across the southern border could make the squatting problem substantially worse.
"What are we going to do later when we have a million people squatting in this country," Shelton said, "when not only do we have a border issue that we can't even figure out, but now we have people that are being mentally, financially, physically messed with because they've lost their home to all of these people?"
"Regardless of how you feel politically or morally about the situation, put that aside and just think about the masses," Shelton added.
Nearly 7.3 million migrants have crossed into the U.S. illegally since the start of 2021, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Since 2022, Texas has sent over 100,000 migrants to major cities in other states, with most ending up in New York City and Chicago. The Big Apple spent $1.45 billion in fiscal 2023 on migrant costs and expects to spend a combined $9.1 billion housing migrants in 2024 and 2025, according to Bloomberg.
Major U.S. cities including New York City, Chicago and Denver have reached their breaking points with the number of migrants they can accommodate. (Getty Images)
"Let me tell you something New Yorkers, never in my life have I had a problem that I did not see an ending to — I don’t see an ending to this," New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in September. "This issue will destroy New York City."
The already lacking resources to handle the hundreds of thousands of homeless Americans living on city streets across the country have been further depleted due to the new flood of people seeking refuge, Shelton said. He questioned what's to stop migrants from using squatting loopholes to their advantage if they realize they can reside in vacant homes rent-free for months on end.
"We have irresponsibly opened a door for a whole lot of people to come into this country, and we aren't prepared to deal with them," Shelton said. "What's the negative for these people to then start taking over these houses?"
The California handyman had his first experience removing squatters in 2019 when two women took over his mother’s home that was up for sale.
After local law enforcement couldn't help, Shelton spent days dissecting laws around squatters’ rights and managed to get rid of the women within a day using a loophole that included signing a lease agreement with his mother designating him as the legal resident of the home. Now he uses his experience to provide squatter removal services for others.
He warned about the "nightmare scenario" the country will face down the road if politicians don’t take action to curb squatting now.
"I'm spending all this time trying to bring awareness to squatting and bring awareness to how the law needs to change," Shelton told Fox News. "Is it going to get worse before it gets better? I think it's already there."
"I think it's going to just get beyond repair at some point," he added.