Q: I have squatters living next door for a year. Their waste water is entering my basement. How can I remove them?
The original owner died and the home was vacant. Can I use the nuisance property ordinance to remove them?
A: Actually a common issue in the City. In past cases, we have sued the owner (in your case, the estate or heirs of the property) for nuisance and injunctive relief. You can also press the City Solicitor's office and Dept. of Housing to press regulatory claims against the owner, or to initiate a receivership that will force a sale of the property. As you are finding, the burden of owning property is great. None of these options are quick, or inexpensive.
Daniel Staeven agrees with this answer
A: Interesting situation… and that’s not the kind of thing you want to hear from your lawyer. But, there may be an easier approach. Here’s the bad news: their status as squatters probably doesn’t matter unless you can get the cooperation of the title owner through his estate or through something like a tax sale. In Anglo-American law, the possessor can hold against the world except as to a prior possessor…. such as the title owner. But, you can sue them for nuisance or, possibly, get the Baltimore health department or another agency involved in enforcement, and you can plainly investigate a suit for nuisance.
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