Full Breakdown
Squatter Takeover Turns D.C. Apartment into Drug Haven
9/6/2026, 12:27:45 AM
Core Event
Tatyana Day Velasquez, the owner of a three-unit building in Columbia Heights, says her basement apartment has been occupied for eight months by individuals who do not pay rent and have turned the space into a “drug haven.” She provided photos showing needles, drug paraphernalia, Narcan, fentanyl test strips, a machete and firearms. Three of the occupants eventually left after safety concerns, but others remain, and Velasquez is pursuing eviction through the D.C. Superior Court.
Legal and Procedural Context
Under District of Columbia law, property owners cannot forcibly remove occupants; eviction must be ordered by the Superior Court and carried out by U.S. Marshals. A June 26 Metropolitan Police Department report found that one occupant had “established residency” by living with a tenant on the lease, so police classified the matter as a landlord-tenant dispute and made no arrests. The D.C. Office of the Tenant Advocate requires that occupants be given a chance to contest an eviction in court, a process that can take months.
Owner and Neighbor Reactions
Velasquez reports ongoing assaults, unpaid property taxes and trash violations, and says she must visit the building daily because police assistance has been limited. A neighbor, identified only as Lloyd, argues the situation reflects broader neighborhood decay, describing it as a “domino effect” that spreads negativity like “fungus…with nuclear waste attached.”
Policy Perspectives
John Gibbs, director of the Institute for Economic Policy Studies at the Heritage Foundation, frames squatting as a property-rights enforcement issue. He attributes recent growth in squatting to COVID-era eviction moratoriums, reduced law-enforcement willingness to treat unauthorized occupancy as a property matter, and the spread of “online tutorials” that facilitate exploitation of eviction procedures.
Verbatim Quotes
- “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
- “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,” — Tatyana Day Velasquez
- “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,” — Tatyana Day Velasquez
- “These small landlords cannot survive in D.C.,” — Tatyana Day Velasquez
- “You say you want to protect women,” — Lloyd
- “The way I see it, it’s a domino effect, and it’s an entitled domino effect, and it is an audacity thing,” — Lloyd
