THE SQUATTER IN MY HOUSE

YOUR HOME IS YOUR CASTLE-UNTIL SOME STRANGER INSISTS IT'S THEIRS

- BY Bill Hangley Jr.

When Genesis Gonzales got home last June from a long visit with her family, seven months pregnant and with a toddler in tow, all she wanted to do was relax.

The stranger on her couch had other ideas.

"All of a sudden, I get a text: 'There's someone in our home!"" says her husband, Jaime Gonzales, who was coming home separately to the family's Salt Lake City apartment. "It was a woman on our couch, with a teddy bear, watching TV. She said, 'This is MY house! Get out of here and take that baby with you!'"

Genesis was stunned. The Gonzales family lives on the top floor of a large complex of about 700 units-not exactly an easy target for break-ins. But as she approached the apartment door, she realized that something was amiss. The lock was missing. A dishrag was stuffed in the hole.

She stepped inside and saw the apartment in shambles. As soon as the woman started yelling from the couch-wearing one of Genesis's shirts, no less-it became clear: They'd been squatted.

She fled down the hallway and called the police. But what would come next? Would the stranger be arrested? Would Genesis be arrested? Would she, her husband and baby have a home to return to?

Squatters or Tenants?

The term squatter covers a lot of territory. Sometimes it's an invited guest who won't leave. Sometimes it's an Airbnb customer who stops paying. Sometimes it's a desperate character hiding in a crawl space or garage. Sometimes it's a well-meaning neighbor trying to make an abandoned space useful.