Casas tomadas recovered in the city

[jantango]

I live in a part of the city where there are properties that are occupied by people who are not the owners and do not pay rent. Word gets around among the neighbors. At least there is no violence or drugs where I live.
I just received the following email from the mayor of Buenos Aires on this topic. It's good to know that something is being done to change this situation.

A City that returns to respect what belongs to each neighbor​ Hello, I want to tell you that we reached a very important milestone The City has already recovered 500 properties which were occupied for many years, some even from decades ago. For a long time, living together was considered natural.with illegally occupied properties. They chose to look the other way and justify the unjustifiable, leaving thousands of neighbors exposed to situations of violence, crimes and urban decay. That stage is over. The laws haven't changed. What changed was the political decision. Today we have a firm and clear stance: enforce the law, defend private property and guarantee that each so that the neighbor can live with the peace and quiet he deserves. In the City, private property is respected. The effort is valued, and the State is on your side of those who comply. These operations will continue. because it is our responsibility to sustain this peace that was so hard to regain.

A hug, Jorge Macri

 

[islandemoji]

I admittedly am not very knowledgable on the subject, but I'm inclined to say that if somebody abandons their property in a time where the cost of living and rate of homelessness keep increasing, I'd much rather see someone squatting in it than it not being used. If the state won't provide relief for homeless people and owners don't care about their property for a length of time, then buildings should be used to protect people

 

[jantango]

As reported online and translated for this post as an example of the situation.
Full text https://buenosaires.gob.ar/noticias/la-ciudad-recupero-500-propiedades-usurpadas

The 500th operation was carried out yesterday at a hotel located at 1228 Chile Street in Monserrat, occupied by people who were subletting the rooms. The property lacks electricity, gas, and water, and is in a state of disrepair, with crumbling masonry, among other problems.

This operation was carried out after the owner, Luciana Palacio, who contacted the Head of Government to report that the family property had been illegally occupied for 18 years.
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This property at Chile 1228 is only 12 blocks from where I live. I also discovered that a hotel in my neighborhood was taken over as well. A senior woman left her belongings at the hotel one night. When I met her on the corner, she asked me for help. I asked someone to call the police who arrived in five minutes to investigate the situation and the fact the hotel was taken over by people who don't own the property.

 

[retiredbanker]

I admittedly am not very knowledgable on the subject, but I'm inclined to say that if somebody abandons their property in a time where the cost of living and rate of homelessness keep increasing, I'd much rather see someone squatting in it than it not being used. If the state won't provide relief for homeless people and owners don't care about their property for a length of time, then buildings should be used to protect people

There are many reasons for properties to be unoccupied. It's not for squatters to decide to "move in".

 

[jantango]

The neighborhoods with the highest number of properties recovered by the City were Balvanera (65 operations), La Boca (39), Almagro (28), Barracas (24) and Constitución (23).

 

[LuckyLuke]

I admittedly am not very knowledgable on the subject, but I'm inclined to say that if somebody abandons their property in a time where the cost of living and rate of homelessness keep increasing, I'd much rather see someone squatting in it than it not being used. If the state won't provide relief for homeless people and owners don't care about their property for a length of time, then buildings should be used to protect people

You are conflating two different things. Squatting empty land owned by the municipality and squatting a privately owned property. Having lived in Los Angeles most of my life, and seeing what skid row downtown has turned into with rigidly enforce anti-squatter laws, I can say that I too would rather see a shanty town on empty land than the annihilation of human dignity that is the endless drug addled tents of skid row. That shanty town on the outskirts of the city is a natural effect of the lack of community resources that a government should address.

That being said, squatting a private home is a crime against individuals - it is robbery, nothing less. It should not be tolerated and goes against the fabric of a cohesive community.

Before you pity these "homeless", make no mistake, these built property squatters are not rando druggies that stumbled into your empty house to sleep a cold night. They are street smart, organized and well defended within their gangs. They are there to threaten you, extort you, and strip you of your wealth. A squatted home can ruin an entire neighborhood. They are there selling drugs, prostitution, breaking into neighboring homes and disturbing whatever peace there is. Hopeless neighbors eventually put their homes up for sale only for them to be occupied by the same group.

While the law can eventually evict them, it is an extremely stressful and expensive endeavor that has ruined health and savings alike. Many elderly give up along the way, especially if there's no younger generation to continue the fight for them.

 

[LuckyLuke]

And don't think that this only happens to "careless owners who abandoned their homes". Let's play out a scenario. The summer has finally come, and you are looking forward to a little time at the beach. You've shut all the window rollers on your home and locked everything tight. You had a relaxing weekend at the beach and you are ready to come home.

You pull up to your drive way and someone has put a locked chain around your entry gate. Some other car is behind the gate. You don't understand. You climb over the driveway gate to open your door, but when you put the key in, it doesn't work. Somebody has changed the locks. You bang on the door and nobody answers. Bewildered, you call the cops explaining what's happened.

The cops show up the next day and somebody answers the door. They show the cops a fake lease showing they are renting the home from you. The cops say they can't prove the lease is false and their hands are tied. Only a judge can evict someone. They suggest you hire an attorney. You are outraged, you tell your family and friends what's happened.

You decide to stay with a family member to see what to do. A few days later you form a little posse to forcibly remove the squatters but when you arrive to your home, there are more rusty cars and now dirt bikes in the drive way. There are a couple large dogs barking at you from behind the gate. There's sketchy people in your yard telling you to fuck off. A woman holding a crying baby is standing in your doorway. You notice a metal door barricade has been crudely welded to your front door. You start yelling at them with your friends, and a couple more people come out of your house. One of them is holding a knife and the other is threatening to shoot your friend. You're worried someone might be hurt if this escalates further. You back off.

You decide to rent a hotel and the next day you find an attorney. The attorney tells you this is going to take years to get an eviction approved by the judge and his starting retainer is $5,000. You don't know where you are going to find the money, you suddenly realize you now have to find a place to rent and you have no furniture or essentials. Your life has turned into a nightmare.

 

[Alby]

the next day you find an attorney. The attorney tells you this is going to take years to get an eviction approved by the judge and his starting retainer is $5,000.

44:02 to 46:26 is this exact scene

 

[Dim Witty]

And don't think that this only happens to "careless owners who abandoned their homes". Let's play out a scenario. The summer has finally come, and you are looking forward to a little time at the beach. You've shut all the window rollers on your home and locked everything tight. You had a relaxing weekend at the beach and you are ready to come home.

You pull up to your drive way and someone has put a locked chain around your entry gate. Some other car is behind the gate. You don't understand. You climb over the driveway gate to open your door, but when you put the key in, it doesn't work. Somebody has changed the locks. You bang on the door and nobody answers. Bewildered, you call the cops explaining what's happened.

The cops show up the next day and somebody answers the door. They show the cops a fake lease showing they are renting the home from you. The cops say they can't prove the lease is false and their hands are tied. Only a judge can evict someone. They suggest you hire an attorney. You are outraged, you tell your family and friends what's happened.

You decide to stay with a family member to see what to do. A few days later you form a little posse to forcibly remove the squatters but when you arrive to your home, there are more rusty cars and now dirt bikes in the drive way. There are a couple large dogs barking at you from behind the gate. There's sketchy people in your yard telling you to fuck off. A woman holding a crying baby is standing in your doorway. You notice a metal door barricade has been crudely welded to your front door. You start yelling at them with your friends, and a couple more people come out of your house. One of them is holding a knife and the other is threatening to shoot your friend. You're worried someone might be hurt if this escalates further. You back off.

You decide to rent a hotel and the next day you find an attorney. The attorney tells you this is going to take years to get an eviction approved by the judge and his starting retainer is $5,000. You don't know where you are going to find the money, you suddenly realize you now have to find a place to rent and you have no furniture or essentials. Your life has turned into a nightmare.

Really hard to get an eviction if you're not politically connected. My wife owns house in the province that´s been occupied for several years. And a legal paper to oust the entruders awaits... and awaits.... and awaits a judge's signature. I guess his pen's been out of ink

 

[Silvie]

I admittedly am not very knowledgable on the subject, but I'm inclined to say that if somebody abandons their property in a time where the cost of living and rate of homelessness keep increasing, I'd much rather see someone squatting in it than it not being used. If the state won't provide relief for homeless people and owners don't care about their property for a length of time, then buildings should be used to protect people

I think this mainly applies to homes where the owners died, left the country or even leaving on a vacation, which in no way implies abandoning the home. My mother was always fearful of leaving the house alone when coming to visit the family abroad for a certain period of time, for the same reason ( this is not a recent situation). Also we had a case in which my mother rented one of the houses to people we knew and one day, they said they couldn't pay the rent any more but they also didn't want to leave the property. We had another case with the same house, in which somebody that we knew during our whole lives and my mother trusted, she was supposed to take care of our properties and during my mother's absence, but she gave the house keys to 3 of her family members that had been evicted so we had more squatters when my mother returned from abroad. Can you understand better how this happens?