Squatters’ rights in New York changed meaningfully in April 2024. A squatter is no longer treated as a tenant, which means law enforcement can remove one without the owner going through a formal eviction. At the same time, New York still recognizes adverse possession, so a person who openly occupies someone else’s property for 10 continuous years can eventually claim legal ownership. Those two rules sit side by side, and knowing which one applies to your situation is the whole game.
What the 2024 Reform Actually Changed
Before 2024, owners who called the police about someone living in their property were often told it was a “civil matter” that had to go through housing court. Governor Hochul signed a law in April 2024 amending Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (RPAPL) Section 711 to draw a bright line: a squatter is not a tenant. The statute defines a squatter as someone who entered or intruded on property without permission and continues occupying it with no title, right, or authorization from the owner.
Because squatters now fall outside the definition of “tenant,” they are not entitled to the formal eviction procedures that protect renters and other lawful occupants. Police can remove a squatter directly. That doesn’t mean every officer will act on the spot. Police may still ask for proof of ownership, and if the occupant claims a right to be there and the situation looks ambiguous, officers can require a court order before acting. What owners still cannot do, under any version of the law, is physically remove someone themselves.
Squatter, Trespasser, or Lawful Occupant
The category the occupant falls into decides how you get them out. Getting this wrong is the single most expensive mistake an owner can make.
A trespasser is someone caught entering without permission. Criminal trespass is a prosecutable offense in New York, running from a violation for simple trespass up to a felony for entering a dwelling at night while armed. Call the police.
A squatter is a trespasser who has settled in with no lease, no permission, and no legal right to be there. Under the 2024 reform, law enforcement can remove them without a court proceeding.
A lawful occupant is a different animal. This category includes anyone who had legitimate permission to be on the property at some point, then overstayed it. Think of a former guest, a family member who was told they could stay for a while, or a roommate whose arrangement ended. Under RPAPL Section 768, anyone who has lawfully occupied a dwelling for 30 consecutive days or longer cannot be removed by self-help. They have to go through the courts. Owners who assume the 2024 reform lets them handle every unwanted occupant with a phone call to police end up on the wrong side of this statute.
How to Remove a Squatter
When Police Can Act
If someone broke into your vacant property and moved in without your knowledge, they fit the statutory definition. Contact law enforcement and bring proof of ownership: a deed, mortgage documents, tax records. Officers may also look for signs that the occupant fabricated some claim to be there, like a forged lease.
Some officers are still catching up on the 2024 changes, or may hesitate when the occupant insists they have a right to stay. If police decline to act, the court process is still available.
When You Have to Go Through Court
If the occupant had some original permission, or the facts are murky enough that police won’t intervene, you file a holdover proceeding. RPAPL Section 713 sets out the grounds for these cases where no landlord-tenant relationship exists, and the statute expressly covers anyone who “intruded into or squatted upon the property without the permission of the person entitled to possession.”1New York State Senate. New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law 713 – Grounds Where No Landlord-Tenant Relationship Exists Subdivision 7 of the same statute covers licensees whose permission has been revoked, which is the path for former guests and family members.
The process starts with a written 10-day notice to quit demanding the occupant leave. If they don’t, you file a special proceeding in the local court that handles landlord-tenant matters. The court issues a notice of petition that has to be properly served on the occupant with a court date. Only after a judgment of possession and a warrant of eviction can the occupant be physically removed, and only by a sheriff or city marshal. Not you.
Adverse Possession: The 10-Year Ownership Claim
The other half of “squatters’ rights” is adverse possession, the legal doctrine that allows a long-term occupant to eventually become the legal owner. In New York, the clock runs for 10 years under the statute of limitations for recovering real property in CPLR Section 212(a).2New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Law 212 – Actions to Be Commenced Within Ten or Fifteen Years Winning one of these claims is genuinely hard, but it happens, most often in boundary disputes, neglected rural parcels, and long-abandoned properties.
RPAPL Section 501 lists six elements, all of which must be satisfied:3New York State Senate. New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law 501 – Adverse Possession Defined
- Under claim of right. The occupant must have a reasonable basis for believing the property is theirs. New York rewrote this element in 2008, replacing the older “hostile” standard. Someone who knows they’re on another person’s land and just hopes to escape notice does not qualify. One exception: if the true owner cannot be identified through county records and cannot be found through reasonable effort, claim of right isn’t required.
- Adverse. The occupation has to be without the owner’s permission. Even informal permission defeats the claim.
- Open and notorious. The use has to be visible enough that a reasonably attentive owner would notice.
- Continuous. The 10-year period must be unbroken. Sporadic or seasonal use won’t cut it.
- Exclusive. The occupant has to control the property to the exclusion of the true owner and the public.
- Actual. The occupant must physically use the property.
Paying property taxes is not a statutory requirement in New York, but it carries real weight. Tax payments are strong evidence that the occupant treated the property as their own, and courts read them as exactly the owner-like behavior the doctrine rewards.
What Owners Cannot Do
New York draws a firm line against self-help removal of anyone who is a lawful occupant. Under RPAPL Section 768, if someone has lawfully occupied a dwelling for 30 consecutive days or more, you cannot force them out, change the locks, shut off utilities, or take any other action designed to make the unit unlivable.4New York State Senate. New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law 768 – Unlawful Eviction The only lawful path is a court-issued warrant of eviction or a government vacate order.
A violation is a Class A misdemeanor. Each violation also carries a civil penalty between $1,000 and $10,000. If the owner fails to restore the occupant after being asked, a court can add a daily penalty of up to $100 until the occupant is let back in, for up to six months.4New York State Senate. New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law 768 – Unlawful Eviction
Here is where the 2024 reform and the unlawful-eviction statute meet. Section 768’s protections apply to lawful occupants, not to squatters as newly defined. If someone broke in last week and you change the locks, they never lawfully occupied the dwelling and the statute shouldn’t reach you. But if someone has been in a property for months and there’s any question about whether they had initial permission, treating it as a self-help situation can produce a criminal charge and thousands in penalties. When it’s ambiguous, use the courts.
Preventing the Problem
Prevention costs less than removal, by a wide margin. A few practices carry most of the weight.
If you let someone use your property temporarily, put the permission in writing with a clear end date. A documented permission letter defeats the “adverse” and “claim of right” elements of any future adverse possession claim. Even years later, sending a written notice that grants or revokes permission resets the clock and breaks the chain of hostile occupancy an adverse possession claimant needs.
Physical security matters more than owners tend to think. Cameras at a vacant property, even inexpensive ones, let you catch entry immediately and call police while the situation is still a clear trespass rather than an established occupancy. Keep windows covered so passersby cannot tell the place is empty. If you’re selling, consider whether a “for sale” sign is quietly advertising the vacancy. Ask neighbors to let you know if they see unfamiliar people coming and going; they are often the first to notice. Visit regularly, keep the property maintained, and make it look occupied.