2023-09-30 16:29:46
«The audacity of these squatters is mind-blowing!” Romain Rossi-Landi, real estate lawyer, is familiar with squatting cases since he regularly defends owners against these illegal occupants. And yet, he couldn’t believe it when he learned of the new affair which hit a residence, in the heart of Annemasse, in Haute-Savoie (74). The story is far from banal. Usually, the squatters take advantage of the owners’ absence to break into a home on their own, often with the help of an accomplice to find the address of the home. This time, the scammers used a surreal strategy: the fake trustee scam.
The owner of one of the apartments in the building took advantage of the tenants’ absence to take over their accommodation and re-rent it. To do this, six years ago, she created a false trustee and hired a false guardian who takes care of this dirty work. Several tenants were thus evicted from their accommodation and replaced by new occupants, completely illegally. One of them had the locks on his door changed, one of the real owners told BFM TV who claims to have been violently attacked by squatters when she wanted to confuse the crooks. “You just have to prove it (that they are illegal occupants)!”, they replied. These apartments are not the only ones to be squatted. A lodge, normally common, was also privatized by the crooks as well as the interior courtyard which was locked, says the representative of the real union co-ownership council.
The squatters also put the electricity meter in their name: this technique is more classic and well-established. Which poses the responsibility of energy companies. The latter respond that they are required, by law, to provide electricity to any person who requests it, without them having to prove legal occupation of the premises. Worse: as the “fake” subscription holder is generally not identifiable, it is often the real owner who pays the bill, often very steep.
“Firm” response from the State
To date, four complaints have been filed and the Thonon-les-Bains public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation intoforgery and use of forgery“. The attacked owner, annoyed by the inaction of the public authorities, even launched an appeal to the Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin so that he can evict the squatters. Contacted by Le Figarothe prefecture plans to intervene “from next week». «We are looking to find out if the new tenants are in bad faith or have been duped by the false trustee», Explains Animya N’Tchandy, chief of staff of the prefect of Haute-Savoie. In the first case, they will be expelled “under the express procedure (72 hours)”, in the second case, they will be rehoused or accommodated in a temporary location. “It will not be easy because the real estate market is very tense in Haute-de-Savoie», Underlines the chief of staff of the prefect. In the meantime, additional police patrols have been set up to monitor the residence.
In the case of a squat, the illegal occupant can be evicted within 72 hours, the law provides. In fact, the delay is often longer, especially in the presence of children or elderly people among the squatters. Furthermore, an owner whose home has been squatted cannot take justice into his own hands because he risks three years in prison and a fine of 30,000 euros. The squatter, for his part, risks a fine of up to 45,000 euros and 3 years in prison, according to the new law promulgated in August.
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