Published by Breitbart | September 19, 2021
A Nassau County housing judge moved to evict a Long Island man that has not paid his mortgage in 23 years, citing that the man is not protected under pandemic housing protections because he is an illegal occupant.
Judge William Hohauser ruled on September 14 that Guramrit Hanspal, 52, is not protected under the pandemic housing protections because he is not a tenant, but rather a squatter. “The protections of the COVID declaration would inhere to tenants, but not to those who have no financial obligation,” ruled Hohauser. He added that those who live in foreclosed homes “could be considered occupants at ‘sufferance’ if not outright squatters.”
Judge Hohauser went on to explains that Hanspal’s lack of effort to pay for the home “augurs strongly against any protection.”
Hanspal bought his home with three bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms in 1998 for $290,000 dollars per the New York Post. The house is located at 2468 Kenmore Street in East Meadow, New York, and was built in 1998 according to Zillow. After making just a single payment of $1,602.37 on his mortgage, Hanspal defaulted on his loan.
Washington Mutual foreclosed on Hanspal’s home in 2000 but was unsuccessful in efforts to remove him, the Post reported.
Since then, the home changed hands twice, yet Hanspal has continued to occupy the residence by filing a series of bankruptcy declarations and lawsuits. In total, Hanspal has filed for bankruptcy seven times and he has filed four lawsuits in efforts to retain the property.
Diamond Ridge Partners currently owns the property and has been trying to evict Hanspal since before the coronavirus pandemic and the eviction moratorium that came with it.
