DC small landlord fights eight-month squatter standoff as city's eviction process stalls
Washington D.C.'s property-rights enforcement framework has drawn fresh scrutiny after a Columbia Heights landlord spent eight months unable to recover her own basement apartment. Tatyana Day Velasquez, who owns a three-unit…
Key takeaways
- A Columbia Heights landlord, Tatyana Day Velasquez, spent eight months unable to recover her basement apartment from unauthorized occupants who turned it into what she called a "drug haven."
- Under D.C. law property owners cannot remove occupants themselves; cases must go through D.C. Superior Court, and a June 26 police report found one occupant had established residency, converting the matter from criminal trespass to a landlord-tenant dispute.
- Three paying tenants vacated the three-unit building over safety concerns, costing Velasquez rental income while property taxes and court fees continued to mount.
- U.S. Marshals served an eviction last week and one occupant was arrested for violating a protective order, but the squatters returned and Velasquez's protective order was dismissed after clerical errors in the court record.
- The Heritage Foundation's John Gibbs linked rising squatting to COVID-era eviction moratoriums, shifts in policing and prosecution, and social media that lets squatters share tactics and use fake leases.
Washington D.C.'s property-rights enforcement framework has drawn fresh scrutiny after a Columbia Heights landlord spent eight months unable to recover her own basement apartment. Tatyana Day Velasquez, who owns a three-unit building in the district, told Fox News Digital that unauthorized occupants had turned the unit into what she described as a "drug haven," while property taxes and court fees continued to mount.
Photos and videos Velasquez provided show the apartment littered with needles, drug pipes, Narcan, fentanyl test strips, a machete, and firearms. Three paying tenants vacated the building amid safety concerns, with one stating she no longer felt safe enough to sleep there. Their departure cost Velasquez rental income from those units while costs on the property continued.
Under D.C. law, property owners cannot remove occupants themselves. Cases must go through D.C. Superior Court, a process Velasquez described as overwhelmed with similar disputes. A Metropolitan Police Department report dated June 26 found that one occupant had established residency, shifting the matter from criminal trespass to a landlord-tenant issue. No arrests were made at that point. D.C.'s Office of the Tenant Advocate requires that occupants be given a court opportunity to challenge any removal before an eviction is carried out.
A policy environment built over years
John Gibbs, Director of the Institute for Economic Policy Studies at the Heritage Foundation, tied part of the growth in squatting to the lasting effects of COVID-era eviction moratoriums. Those moratoriums, he argued, expanded government involvement in landlord-tenant disputes and made removing occupants more difficult and uncertain. Gibbs also pointed to shifts in policing and prosecution that he said weakened deterrence, and to social media platforms that have allowed would-be squatters to learn eviction procedures, share tactics, and in some cases organize schemes using fake leases.
Velasquez's neighbor, identified only as Lloyd, said the consequences extend well beyond her property line. He described a domino effect spreading through the block, with passersby also being antagonized.
U.S. Marshals served an eviction at the property last week, and one occupant was arrested for violating a protective order on the location. The squatters have since returned, Velasquez says, and her protective order was subsequently dismissed after clerical errors in the court record. The D.C. mayor's office declined to comment. A D.C. police spokesperson said the underlying problem is a matter of D.C. law and that any legislative change would fall to the D.C. Council.
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