2026年9月5日 美国东部时间早上6:00 / 福克斯新闻
塔季扬娜·戴·贝拉斯克斯表示，她已奋战八个月，试图收回自己的地下室单元，而法院的驱逐程序仍在拖延
基拉·麦克唐纳、安德鲁·马克·米勒 福克斯新闻报道
霸占房客肆虐华盛顿特区公寓楼，房东奋力收回房产
塔季扬娜·戴·贝拉斯克斯向福克斯新闻数字频道讲述了她长达数月的法律斗争，她称霸占房客恐吓租户，将她的房产变成了“毒品窝点”。
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华盛顿特区——福克斯新闻独家报道： 就在华盛顿特区持续应对顽固的霸占房客问题之际，一位首都居民公开讲述不受欢迎的租户如何彻底打乱了她的生活，恐吓她所在的社区，而市政府却袖手旁观。
“我在包括第三世界国家在内的多个国家生活过，但在华盛顿特区，我感觉自己仿佛生活在第四世界国家，”在哥伦比亚高地拥有一栋小型三单元公寓楼的塔季扬娜·戴·贝拉斯克斯告诉福克斯新闻数字频道。
“我从未见过这样的情况。发生的事情没有任何人负责。所有人都在互相推诿，根本没人帮忙。如果得不到帮助，人们该如何解决我这样的问题？”
贝拉斯克斯表示，在动荡不安的八个月里，她房产的地下室公寓被陌生人占据，这些人拒绝离开，免费居住，且看不到任何被驱逐的后果。
房主遭亲霸占房客恐吓，专家称美好家园沦为噩梦
塔季扬娜·戴·贝拉斯克斯告诉福克斯新闻数字频道，霸占房客占据了她华盛顿特区房产的地下室公寓，引发了长达数月的法律纠纷。（福克斯新闻数字频道/基拉·麦克唐纳 摄 / 福克斯新闻数字频道 供图）
贝拉斯克斯表示，这间公寓被用垃圾桶和砖块搭建的临时路障挡住，现已变成“毒品窝点”，深夜里陌生面孔进进出出，不断发生斗殴，化学气味渗透整栋建筑。贝拉斯克斯提供的照片和视频显示，一间凌乱不堪的公寓里散落着针管和吸毒用具，还有纳洛酮（阿片类药物解毒剂）、芬太尼检测试纸、一把砍刀和枪支。
“他们不付房租，”她说，“很明显，他们靠贩毒赚钱。”
法律诉讼一拖再拖
这场纠纷现已进入华盛顿特区高等法院，贝拉斯克斯正努力收回地下室公寓，她称法院“积压了大量类似我的案件”。
法庭文件显示，在之前的租户告知贝拉斯克斯自己已搬走后，她发现其他人占据了她的公寓。尽管其中一名男子声称之前的租户给了他钥匙，但租约明确规定，未经授权的居住者、转租和与毒品相关的犯罪活动均被禁止。
愤怒居民对抗无家可归住房官员，热门海滩社区濒临崩溃
塔季扬娜·戴·贝拉斯克斯称霸占房客占据了地下室单元的公寓楼。（福克斯新闻数字频道/基拉·麦克唐纳 摄）
出于安全考虑，三名租户最终逃离并腾空了大楼，法庭文件显示，其中一名租户告诉贝拉斯克斯，她“再也不敢在这里睡觉了”。
这些男子从未获得居住许可，也未支付房租，贝拉斯克斯认为这足以将他们驱逐出大楼。
“这怎么可能？”她说，“他们不是客人，也不是受邀者。这处房产不是商业场所。所以，他们没有被默许进入，他们就是非法入侵者。”
警方记录显示情况更为复杂。6月26日的大都会警察局报告称，其中一名居住者“已通过与租约上的租户共同居住建立了居住权”，因此不能简单将其驱逐，警方将其视为房东与租户纠纷，未进行逮捕。
根据华盛顿特区法律，物业所有者通常不能自行驱逐居住者，而必须通过华盛顿特区高等法院程序，在某些情况下该过程可能耗时数月。华盛顿特区租户维权办公室表示，在执行驱逐前，必须给予居住者机会在法庭上对物业所有者的主张提出质疑。
纽约市房东警告，在社会主义租金政策下美国梦正在消逝
在公寓内发现的砍刀和吸毒用具。（福克斯新闻数字频道 供图）
“我认为这是掠夺性策略，我还认为，赋予霸占房客权利违反了第四修正案和第十四修正案，因为你不再拥有私人财产，”贝拉斯克斯说，“政府决定你的财产将被用作什么。”
但账单从未停止，贝拉斯克斯表示，包括华盛顿特区房产税和与霸占房客留下的垃圾相关的垃圾违规罚单。
“我没有从这处房产获得任何收入，事实上，华盛顿特区政府还在向我收税，”贝拉斯克斯说。
求助呼声无人理睬
贝拉斯克斯现在只能自行应对这场混乱，每天开车前往大楼与所谓的霸占房客对峙，而她的求助呼声始终无人理睬。
“我不得不每天去那里，因为你知道，我从警方那里得到的帮助寥寥无几，邻居们也都厌倦了，”她说。
贝拉斯克斯表示，与霸占房客的对峙曾多次演变为肢体冲突，她称警方对她持续举报霸占房客的行为表示反对。
“我被袭击过好几次，而我什么也做不了，因为我要为这处房产和其他租户的安全负责，”贝拉斯克斯说。
纽约房东恳求援助，“九年霸占房客”在法庭诉讼中榨干他的钱财：“宛如恐怖地带”
公寓门被破坏，大楼外搭建的垃圾桶和砖块临时路障。（福克斯新闻数字频道 供图 / 福克斯新闻数字频道/基拉·麦克唐纳 摄）
一位邻居表示，这一事件传递出有关华盛顿特区优先事项的令人不安的信号。
“你们说要保护女性，”贝拉斯克斯的邻居劳埃德告诉福克斯新闻数字频道，“你们如此反对家庭暴力，反对这反对那，但转头却做出这样的事。”
劳埃德说，骚乱甚至蔓延到了大楼之外，路过的邻居也受到了骚扰。
“在我看来，这是多米诺效应，是一种理所当然的多米诺效应，是一种厚颜无耻的行为，”劳埃德说。
存在缺陷的制度
这场持续的法律纠纷暴露了华盛顿特区针对所谓霸占房客的备受争议的处理方式，物业所有者在法院进行驱逐程序期间几乎别无选择，而账单仍在不断累积。
劳埃德表示，霸占房客的影响可能波及整个社区。
“就像一件负面事件引发另一件负面事件，所以你就像附着着核废料的真菌一样蔓延到整个社区，”劳埃德说。
华盛顿特区警方发言人告诉福克斯新闻数字频道，一旦有人在房产中建立了居住权，大都会警察局的权限就会受到限制。他补充称，警方可以响应报警、调查涉嫌犯罪并在找到合理依据时进行逮捕，但不能仅仅因为物业所有者认为某人未经授权就将其驱逐。
驱逐和所有权纠纷必须通过华盛顿特区高等法院处理，美国法警局负责执行法院命令的驱逐。发言人表示，根本问题主要在于华盛顿特区的法律，任何立法修改都需由华盛顿特区议会负责。
“霸占问题主要不是住房政策问题，而是财产权执法问题，”传统基金会经济政策研究所所长约翰·吉布斯告诉福克斯新闻数字频道，“核心失败在于，合法所有者收回财产面临的负担往往比未经授权的居住者占据财产面临的负担更大。解决方案是恢复所有权至关重要的推定。加快驱逐程序、加大反欺诈处罚力度、加快法院审理速度以及为执法部门提供更明确的权限，都可以在为合法租户提供保护的同时，大幅减少霸占房客现象。”
吉布斯指出了他认为近年来霸占现象激增的多个因素，包括新冠疫情期间驱逐禁令的遗留影响，这些禁令扩大了政府对房东与租户纠纷的干预，使驱逐居住者变得更加困难和不确定。他认为，这些禁令助长了一种环境，在这种环境中，居住权越来越多地与物业所有者的权利相互权衡。
此外，吉布斯指出，当局越来越不愿意将未经授权的居住视为财产权问题，加上警务和起诉方面的变化削弱了威慑力。与此同时，他表示，社交媒体让潜在的霸占房客更容易学习如何利用驱逐程序，他提到了有关假租约、在线教程和有组织计划的报道，这些都使霸占手段更容易被复制。
福克斯新闻数字频道联系了华盛顿特区议会的多名议员和委员会成员征求评论。
市长办公室拒绝置评。
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上周，美国法警局在该房产处执行了驱逐令，其中一名霸占房客还因违反该地点的保护令被捕，但问题并未解决，他和他的熟人多次返回该房产，贝拉斯克斯表示。此外，贝拉斯克斯称，由于法院的文书错误，她的保护令已被撤销。
对贝拉斯克斯而言，这场纠纷是过去几年当地媒体报道过的众多华盛顿特区物业所有者面临的“恐怖故事”之一，目前看不到任何解决办法。
“这些小房东在华盛顿特区无法生存，”贝拉斯克斯说，“我不知道市政府的最终目标是什么，但他们根本不在乎小人物、小房东。”
福克斯新闻数字频道联系了所谓的霸占房客征求评论，但未收到回复。
基拉·麦克唐纳是福克斯新闻数字频道的制作助理。
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Squatter nightmare turns DC apartment building into ‘drug haven’ as legal battle drags on: ‘There’s no help’
September 5, 2026 6:00am EDT / Fox News
Tatyana Day Velasquez says she has fought for eight months to reclaim her basement unit as eviction drags on in court
By Kiera McDonald , Andrew Mark Miller Fox News
Squatters wreak havoc on DC apartment building as landlord fights to take back property
Tatyana Day Velasquez spoke to Fox News Digital about her months-long legal battle to remove squatters she says have terrorized tenants and turned her property into a “drug haven.”
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — FIRST ON FOX: As Washington, D.C., grapples with a persistent squatting problem, one resident in the nation’s capital is speaking out about how unwelcome tenants have turned her life upside down, terrorizing her neighborhood while the city stands by and does nothing.
“I lived in several countries, including Third World countries, but it seems to me that I’m living in a Fourth World country in D.C.,” Tatyana Day Velasquez, who owns a small three-unit building in Columbia Heights, told Fox News Digital.
“I’ve never seen something like it. There’s no accountability for what goes on. Everybody just throws the ball to each other, and there’s no help. So how can somebody resolve a problem like mine if you don’t get help?”
For a tumultuous eight months, Velasquez said her property’s basement apartment has been overrun by strangers who refuse to leave and live rent-free with no consequences in sight.
HOMEOWNERS TERRORIZED BY PRO SQUATTERS TURNING DREAMS INTO NIGHTMARES IN PALM-LINED PARADISE, EXPERTS SAY
Tatyana Day Velasquez told Fox News Digital that squatters took over the basement apartment of her Washington, D.C., property, leading to a months-long legal battle.(Fox News Digital/Kiera McDonald ; Obtained by Fox News Digital)
Hidden behind a makeshift barricade built with trash cans and bricks, Velasquez said the apartment has transformed into a “drug haven,” with unfamiliar faces pouring in and out in the night, constant fights breaking out, and a chemical odor seeping through the building. Photos and videos provided by Velasquez show a disheveled apartment littered with needles and drug pipes, as well as Narcan, fentanyl test strips, a machete and guns.
“They don’t pay rent,” she said. “I mean they’re making money by drug dealing, obviously.”
Legal battle drags on
The dispute has since landed in D.C. Superior Court, where Velasquez is fighting to reclaim the basement apartment, arguing the courts are “overfilled with situations like mine.”
Court documents show that Velasquez discovered other people had taken over her apartment after the previous tenant told her he moved out. Despite one of the men claiming the tenant gave him a key, the lease explicitly states unauthorized occupants, subletting and drug-related criminal activity are prohibited.
FURIOUS RESIDENTS CONFRONT HOMELESS HOUSING LEADERS AS POPULAR BEACH COMMUNITY HITS BREAKING POINT
The apartment building where Tatyana Day Velasquez said squatters took over the basement unit.(Fox News Digital/Kiera McDonald)
Three separate tenants ultimately fled and vacated the building amid safety concerns, with one of the tenants telling Velasquez she “no longer feels safe enough to sleep here,” according to court documents.
With the men never receiving approval and not paying rent, Velasquez argued this was enough reason to have them removed from the building.
“How could that be possible?” she said. “They are not guests. They’re not invitees. This property is not a business. So, they are not implied consent to get inside, they are trespassers.”
Police records tell a more complicated story. A June 26 Metropolitan Police Department report said one of the occupants had “established residency” by living with a tenant on the lease and therefore could not simply be removed, so police treated it as a landlord-tenant dispute and made no arrests.
Under D.C. law, property owners generally cannot remove occupants themselves and instead must go through D.C. Superior Court, a process that can take months in some cases. D.C.’s Office of the Tenant Advocate says occupants must be given an opportunity to challenge a property owner’s claims in court before an eviction can be carried out.
NEW YORK CITY LANDLORDS WARN AMERICAN DREAM IS SLIPPING AWAY UNDER SOCIALIST RENT POLICIES
A machete and drug paraphernalia found inside the apartment.(Obtained Fox News Digital)
“I believe this is predatory tactics, and I also believe that by letting squatters have rights, it’s a violation of the Fourth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment because you no longer have private property,” Velasquez said. “The government decides what your property is going to be used as.”
But the bills never stopped coming, according to Velasquez, including D.C. property taxes and trash violations connected to the debris left behind by squatters.
“I’m not making any income from the property and, as a matter of fact, I’m still being charged taxes from the D.C. government,” Velasquez said.
Cries for help fall on deaf ears
Velasquez has now taken it upon herself to manage the chaos, driving to the building daily to confront the alleged squatters as her cries for help fall on deaf ears.
“I have to go there every day because, you know, I haven’t received much help from the police and the neighbors are tired of it,” she said.
The confrontations with the squatter have turned physical multiple times, according to Velasquez, who said has received pushback from the police over her continued calls reporting the squatter.
“I’ve been assaulted like a couple of times and there’s nothing I can do because I’m responsible for the property and for the safety of other tenants,” Velasquez said.
NYC LANDLORD PLEADS FOR HELP AS ‘9-YEAR-SQUATTER’ CONTINUES TO DRAIN HIM DRY IN COURT SAGA: ‘TWILIGHT ZONE’
A vandalized apartment door and a makeshift barricade of garbage cans and bricks outside the property.(Obtained by Fox News Digital ; Fox News Digital/Kiera McDonald)
One neighbor said the incident sends a troubling message about D.C.’s priorities.
“You say you want to protect women,” Lloyd, Velasquez’s neighbor, told Fox News Digital. “You’re so against domestic violence, you’re against this and that, but then you turn around and do something like this.”
The disturbances have even spread beyond the property, Lloyd said, with neighbors passing by also being antagonized.
“The way I see it, it’s a domino effect, and it’s an entitled domino effect, and it is an audacity thing,” Lloyd said.
A flawed system
The ongoing legal battle is shining a spotlight on D.C.’s controversial approach to alleged squatters, with property owners left with few options while eviction proceedings play out in court and bills continue to pile up.
Lloyd said the effects of squatting can ripple through entire neighborhoods.
“It’s like one negative thing permeates another negative thing, so you become a fungus in the neighborhood with nuclear waste attached to you,” Lloyd said.
A D.C. police spokesperson told Fox News Digital MPD’s authority is limited once someone has established residency at a property, adding that officers can respond to calls, investigate alleged crimes and make arrests when they find probable cause, but they cannot simply remove an established resident because a property owner considers the person unauthorized.
Evictions and questions about possession have to go through D.C. Superior Court, with the U.S. Marshals responsible for carrying out court-ordered evictions. The spokesperson said the underlying problem is largely a matter of D.C. law and that any legislative change would fall to the D.C. Council.
“Squatting is not primarily a housing policy problem; it is a property-rights enforcement problem,” John Gibbs, Director of the Institute for Economic Policy Studies at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital. “The core failure is that lawful owners often face greater burdens recovering their property than unauthorized occupants face taking possession of it. The solution is restoring the presumption that ownership matters. Expedited removal procedures, stronger anti-fraud penalties, faster courts, and clearer authority for law enforcement could significantly reduce squatting while preserving protections for legitimate tenants.”
Gibbs pointed to a combination of factors he believes has fueled the growth of squatting in recent years, including the lingering effects of COVID-era eviction moratoriums, which expanded government involvement in landlord-tenant disputes and made removing occupants more difficult and uncertain. He argued those moratoriums helped foster an environment in which occupancy rights were increasingly weighed against property owners’ rights.
Additionally, Gibbs pointed to a growing reluctance among authorities to treat unauthorized occupancy as a property-rights issue, along with changes in policing and prosecution that he said have weakened deterrence. At the same time, he said social media has made it easier for would-be squatters to learn how to exploit eviction procedures, pointing to reports of fake leases, online tutorials and organized schemes that have made the tactics easier to replicate.
Fox News Digital reached out to multiple members and committees of the D.C. City Council for comment.
The mayor’s office declined to comment.
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Last week, the U.S. Marshalls served an eviction at the property, and one of the squatters was also arrested for violating the protective order on the location, but the problem has not been resolved as he and his acquaintances have returned to the property multiple times, Velasquez says. Additionally, Velasquez says her protective order has been dismissed due to clerical errors in the courts.
For Velasquez, the dispute is one of many “horror stories” facing DC property owners that have been reported in local media over the past few years with no resolution in sight.
“These small landlords cannot survive in D.C.,” Velasquez said. “I don’t know what the end game is from the city, but they don’t care about the small guys, the small landlords.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the alleged squatter for comment but did not receive a response.
Kiera McDonald is a Production Assistant for Fox News Digital.
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