New York couple battles squatter who took over their $2 million dream home

An elderly couple in New York City has yet to move into their $2 million dream retirement home despite purchasing it over four months ago as they deal with a squatter who refuses to vacate the property.

Susana and Joseph Landa have been left with no choice but to take Brett Flores, who acted as a live-in caretaker for the now-deceased previous owner and claims to have a legal right to the property, to court.

According to ABC7, the Landas bought the home in the Douglaston neighborhood of Queens last October in order to be closer to family who could help care for their adult son, who has Down Syndrome.

After they completed the purchase, however, Flores maintained that he was the rightful owner. He claimed that the previous owner, who paid him $3,000 per week until his death in January 2023, had given him the home, thus making his tenancy legal. Despite not being able to live there, the Landas have nonetheless been paying all the bills.

"If you have no lease and you're not paying rent, what is your right?" Mr. Landa said during an interview with ABC7. "It makes me feel completely forgotten in this legal system, unfair and not able to do anything."

In New York City, squatters are granted rights after occupying a property for more than 30 days, regardless of their legal ability to reside there. Having been there for years, Flores is regarded as a tenant, and thus the Landas must take him to landlord-tenant court.

Flores, who the Landas say has been renting out rooms in the house to others, recently filed for bankruptcy, which is expected to delay proceedings even further. He has said that he would leave if the couple pays him $100,000.

According to the Daily Mail, Flores has posted a note on the door informing the Landas that if they contact him, it will be "interpreted as harassment," and that any communications should be directed to his lawyer.