Just seven words have been added to New York State’s laws defining tenants, making it easier to remove squatters from homes in an action that Assemblywoman Gina Sillitti (D–Port Washington) said will restore peace to many neighborhoods.

“The devil is in the details,” Sillitti said. “That small change will hopefully make a big difference.”

In the state’s 2025 budget that passed in April, a legislation change was made as well to no longer define squatters as legal tenants.

The property law change is just the inclusion of seven words: “A tenant shall not include a squatter.”

“This was a simple change in the law,” Sillitti said. “It makes it clear that a squatter is not entitled to the same rights as legal tenants.”

Sillitti co-sponsored the legislation, saying squatter issues are one that specifically affect her district.

Before the legislative change, Sillitti said homeowners struggled to remove squatters who had resided in their properties for more than 30 days. After 30 days, the law previously required homeowners to go through housing court to remove squatters. Sillitti said this was typically a long, drawn-out  and expensive process.

In 2019, before Sillitti joined the state Assembly, tenant protections were strengthened in the state, but Sillitti said this did not designate legal tenants separate from squatters. This included the designation of a tenant after 30 days of occupying a home.

The addition of the seven words now makes it illegal for undesignated individuals to occupy homes, giving police the ability to remove squatters as they have violated the law.

In instances where a home is abandoned or owned by a bank, Sillitti said it still can be more difficult to remove squatters as there is no homeowner to be a victim. But Sillitti said many cases happening locally do involve a homeowner.

New Hyde Park has specifically had problems with squatters in the past year, with two instances being resolved in the past four months.

The most recent incident was resolved just last month when three individuals were arrested and removed from the home at 109 Evans St. after a year of occupying it. Once emptied, the house’s locks were changed.

The Evans Street house was in the midst of the foreclosure process last year. It was set to go to auction, thanks to the cooperation of the seller, who was the late homeowner’s son, when people broke into the home, Homeowners Resource Group President Eva Biondolillo previously said.

The number of individuals occupying the home was unknown, but three were arrested on June 20 and an additional two more fled. Five pitbulls were also removed from the property.

Neighbors said the group would throw loud parties at night and kept five pitbulls that barked throughout the early hours of the morning. At times five to six cars would be parked outside the house, the neighbors said.

Neighbors, who had said they no longer felt comfortable in their neighborhood with the squatters present, expressed a sense of relief after they were removed.

The neighbors said police told them the occupants were dangerous individuals and potentially affiliated with gangs.

Just two months before the Evans Street squatter removal, a pair of squatters were removed from a New Hyde Park home at 39 Brussel Drive – a 10-minute drive away.

The couple was removed after a year in the home and a series of court hearings after the lease they provided to the courts that granted them the right to stay in the home was determined to be fake.

Sillitti said this change is a first step yet an important one as rights are strengthened for homeowners against squatters.

After the first step, Sillitti said she is eyeing future state investments in housing court to aid in expediting cases. This includes greater staff and more judges.

“We’ve heard the residents loud and clear and we’ve made a substantive change for them, which is our job,” Sillitti said.