Imagine going on vacation and coming home to discover that other people had moved in.
It may sound unbelievable, but this appears to be the reality for a family who shared a video of their adventure on Reddit.
Speaking to the home’s owners through a bolted front door, the squatters stated that the window through which they gained entrance should not have been left open. As a result, they claimed they had squatters’ rights to dwell there.
As a caveat, it is unknown whether this scenario occurred or if the movie is a hoax, however among the 2400 comments are several from people who claim they or others they know have encountered similar circumstances.
Reddit user ‘nybbas’ wrote, “Happened to my buddies parents (kind of). They had bought a vacation home at a lake in California. Some squatters ended up in the house across from theirs, and were stealing power and water. They called the cops and the cops basically said they couldn’t do anything, and that these people were notorious for going from house to house in the area and squatting.”
Other platform users threatened squatters with violence if they attempted the same move in their house or any others in specified parts of the United States.
Another Reddit user wrote, “I live in Florida. A guy had a rental vacation home that had been taken over by squatters in between rental dates. It was less than a month.
“Since it’s Florida, he didn’t even contact the authorities. He flew down here, dropped by his personal home and grabbed his AR15, pistol, and body armour. All the neighbours knew he owned the rental property, so it didn’t alarm them when he jumped the back fence fully kitted up and busted down the back door.
“A Haitian family had obviously been told the wrong information about Florida squatters laws. Perhaps they had mistaken seven days for seven years. Regardless, they all went running out the front door and never returned.”
It is also worth noting that this video is not from South Africa. However, it begs the question of what squatters’ rights are and what the local law says about them.
According to Maria Davey of Meumann White Attorneys, there is “this general perception” that there are “squatters’ rights,” but under our law, no individual or organisation has any right to occupy property without the consent of the owner, or legitimate occupant, unless this is sanctioned by a court.
“Having said that though, if someone is in unlawful occupation of your property, you cannot simply forcibly remove them – and this is where the misconception arises that they do have any right. You need to first get a court order.”
If the situation depicted in the video above occurred in South Africa, she claims the owner would require a court order to expel the unlawful occupants.
“No-one is entitled to claim squatters’ rights unless the court has sanctioned the occupation, and that would not be of private property. If cases like this go to court, it may take some time, but an order is eventually granted and the occupiers evicted.”
While there have been occupations of unoccupied land and farmlands in South Africa, evictions have occurred.
Furthermore, she says: “I have never heard of anything like that contained in the video.”
The post WATCH: A family returns home after a vacation to find strangers residing in their house appeared first on Entertainment SA - South African Entertainment News, Celebrity and Lifestyle Online Magazine & Entertainment.
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