I’m not sure why you are being downvoted. This is absolutely the case. Big-time property owners like Blackrock don’t care so much; they have the time and money and thousands of other assets to use the legal system for eviction. Small-time landlords (think somebody who bought a few properties to retire on the income) incur heavy, lifestyle-altering losses.
The BBC article focuses heavily on a family that was fraudulently leased an apartment, which is a very sympathetic case; the criminals are unnamed, faceless grifters. But it is far more common that squatters are fully aware of what they are doing, and exploiting the slow pace of the legal system in whichever jurisdiction to get away with it.
The BBC article focuses heavily on a family that was fraudulently leased an apartment, which is a very sympathetic case; the criminals are unnamed, faceless grifters. But it is far more common that squatters are fully aware of what they are doing, and exploiting the slow pace of the legal system in whichever jurisdiction to get away with it.
And yes, this happens in the U.S. too.