NYC Couple faces Squatters' lawsuit.
A New York couple, Juliya Fulman and Denis Kurlyand are facing legal action from squatters who allegedly took over and refused to leave their $930k home.
The couple described this situation as a costly nightmare, with homeowners' legal fees totaling $4,000 so far.
Squatters claim rights under Tenant Protection laws
The alleged squatters claimed that New York tenancy laws grant certain rights to occupants who have resided in a property for over 30 days. Fulman expressed outrage at this situation, calling it "absurd" that squatters who broke into their home have legal leverage.
Fulman told the New York Post: "It’s absolutely absurd. These people literally broke into my house. It’s not fair to us as homeowners that we are not protected by the city."
Fulman and Kurlyand purchased the duplex as an investment, renovating it for $530,000 before finding tenants. However, their plans were disrupted on March 5th when their broker discovered changed locks and unknown individuals residing inside.
Ejona Bardhi's home was broken into by several strange men, prompting her to take legal action.
Ejona Bardhi spotted several strange men leaving her inside the home. The situation took a threatening turn when the broker encountered intimidating men upon attempting to call the police.
Despite the police intervention, the men returned with a forged lease agreement, further complicating the situation.
After dealing with a nightmare, the homeowners decided to change the locks again but were soon hit with a lawsuit from the alleged squatters targeting them, the broker.
Then Bardhi received a court order saying the men were suing her, the homeowners, and the company handling the site, Top Nest Properties.
The court battle happen
An emergency hearing was held, with the homeowners' lawyer arguing that the men perpetrated fraud using forged documents. The squatters' lawyer, however, claims to have seen enough evidence to believe they were residing in the property.
Their attorney Dennis Harris told the Daily Mail: "They showed me a rental application, a lease, text messages, and correspondence.
"Is it possible that this is a big scam? Certainly, anything is possible, but I don't believe it. If there is a scam they may have been scammed by someone else pretending to be the landlord."
Both parties are set to reappear in court on April 5th. Kurlyand expressed his fear of an unfavorable outcome despite possessing evidence.
Kurlyand said: "As in any courtroom, you never know which way it’s going to go. It’s scary, if the judge decides for whatever reason to rule against us that day, even if we have evidence, there’s nothing we can do at the end of the day, we still have to fight in court,"
"Somebody broke into my house, and I’m in court getting sued by them. How can we be here? How is this possible? There have to be safety precautions in place." He added.
