Donald Trump Jr. took to social media on Tuesday to rage against squatters' rights laws and suggested how they might impact homeowners, while also seeming to blame their existence on Democrats.
Squatters' rights is a term used to refer to "adverse possession" laws, which permit someone to take ownership of something, most commonly a piece of real estate, that they do not officially own by possessing or living in it for a set amount of time, or "squatting" in it.
Such laws are most appropriately applied to abandoned properties, but they can cause conflicts if people attempt to squat in a property that the owner still wishes to utilize.
On Tuesday, Trump Jr., the son of former president and presumptive 2024 GOP nominee Donald Trump, took to his father's social media platform, Truth Social, to rage over the existence of squatters' rights and warn homeowners about how permissive they might hypothetically become.
"The fact that 'squatters rights' are becoming a thing in Joe Biden's America & they're the ones getting the benefit of the doubt tells you everything about the trajectory of America under democrat control," Trump Jr. wrote. "How long till someone moves into your home and throws you out?"
Newsweek reached out to the White House via email for comment on Tuesday morning.
It is unclear, based on Trump Jr.'s post, why he was speaking out on the matter, though there is currently a bill before the state assembly in New York, where the Trump family has conducted much of its business, aiming to make it easier for landlords to remove squatters.
Laws in the state currently prevent landlords from kicking someone out of a property if they claim to be a tenant, or from taking certain actions against them if they have resided on a property for at least 30 days. In these instances, landlords must go to court to evict these individuals.
Despite the younger Trump's seeming assertion about the Biden administration, laws resembling modern squatters' rights date back centuries to Roman law in the 6th Century and later proliferated throughout Europe. Such laws have existed in the United States since before it achieved independence, inherited from British common law.
Such laws are also not consistently stricter or laxer depending on the political makeup of a given state. While California, a major blue state, requires a relatively short amount of time to pass in order for squatters to achieve ownership, five years, red states like Iowa and Florida have similarly short time requirements. Conversely, states that require 20 years to pass include the likes of Massachusetts, Maryland, Idaho, and Georgia.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more
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