Landlord Fighting To Oust Alleged Squatter From Bronx House
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A landlord is fighting in court to reclaim her Bronx rental property from a man she claims is a squatter.
Maria Diaz hopes to fix up the house she owns at 2813 Sedgwick Avenue in Kingsbridge and sell it, 1010 WINS' Al Jones reported.
But when Diaz's daughter stopped by in May for a building inspection, she found a shirtless man living inside.
Landlord Fighting To Oust 'Squatter' From Bronx House
"He said nothing," she said. "He was just walking around, and I said, 'I'm calling the police,'" Diaz's daughter, Elizabeth Tineo, told CBS2's Steve Langford.
The man, Clark Eli Selassie, had been living in the home for months. He also had changed the locks, Diaz said.
Police responded and removed the man immediately, Tineo said. But a Housing Court judge later ruled the 35-year-old cabbie had every right to be there.
The judge's order read, in part, "it is the finding of this court that the petitioner was illegally locked out of the subject apartment and is entitled to possession of said apartment."
Selassie said he signed a lease, and he's not leaving. The judge ruled in his favor after the person Selassie claimed he had known to be the rightful owner did not appear in court, Tineo said.
Curiously, the back door of the home was wide open Tuesday, and the interior appeared to be in poor condition, Langford reported.
"He says that we are delusional, (and) we are not the homeowners," Tineo said.
"The process of evicting a squatter is the same as evicting a tenant," she added. "Unfortunately, the laws work against any homeowner."
The homeowners say Selassie has been served notice of a new court filing against him, which could lead to him being evicted.
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