Home Owner's $1.1m Home Torched By Squatters That 'Keep Coming Back' And 'Have More Rights' Than Landlords

A landlord in New York has faced significant challenges after squatters set fire to his property, which he had emptied to carry out renovations.

Zafar Iqbal, an employee of the Metropolitan Transport Authority, purchased the Dyker Heights property in 2017 for $1.1 million.

He has since been burdened with a $6,000 monthly mortgage and financial difficulties as the intruders "keep coming back."

In New York, squatters can legally claim residence in a property after occupying it for 30 days.

After this period, they can no longer be prosecuted for trespassing, and any disputes must be handled in civil courts.

In November, Iqbal received a distressing call from the fire department.

"I got a call from the fire department that the house is burnt out. Somebody got in there and torched my house.""

"That's when I found out it was a squatter living there."

New York City is facing a mounting crisis with housing. Alexander Spatari / Getty

"The squatters have more rights than the homeowners. I'm the owner of the house. How much more can I do? I need help," he told the New York Post.

The squatter was subsequently charged with arson and criminal mischief, receiving a six-month jail sentence after a guilty plea.

According to the criminal complaint, the squatter told police: "The fire was caused by candles. I was smoking cigarettes, lit a candle."

"While I had the stove on to heat up the water and to keep myself warm, [I] went downstairs to take a shower."

"When I came back I saw flames and smoke everywhere."

The alleged squatter was later charged with arson and criminal mischief. PIX11 News/YouTube

Iqbal has expressed frustration over his continued inability to access the property, which he plans to renovate as soon as his insurance claim is processed, a process that has already taken three months.

"Every two or three weeks I go there but I don't approach. I don't know if these guys have weapons or whatever."

"My safety is precious too. I don't make that type of money and I'm paying all that money out of my pocket," Iqbal lamented.

"This is costing me. It's not right," he added. 

"My wife is upset. Her health is not that good and this is just compounding it more. This is not good for my neighbors."

Advocacy groups have cited lack of affordable housing as a factor in rising homelessness. Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

"I treat my neighbors as a family. Your neighbors are an extension of your family, basically. I do apologize for what's going on, but there is nothing more I can do."

The Coalition for the Homeless has highlighted a severe shortage of affordable housing in New York as a key factor contributing to the city's high levels of homelessness, the highest since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Meanwhile, lawyers in Queens, who represent both landlords and tenants, note that cases of people breaking into vacant homes and refusing to leave are uncommon.

Daniel Pomerantz, an attorney representing landlords, pointed out that the primary issue is the delay in the court system, which has been exacerbated since COVID and can prolong the eviction process to over a year. 

"The big problem when the landlord or the owner tries to get them out is the delays in the court system that have not improved at all since COVID," he told Gothamist.