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What are 'squatter's rights'? Why an Indiana woman's reason for living in a vacant home wouldn't hold up in court

One of the women told police that she didn't know who owned the house but she was aware of "squatter's rights" because she was "preparing to be a lawyer."

CLARKSVILLE, Ind. — Two women are in the Clark County Jail after police said they were caught living in a house that wasn't theirs.

According to a release from the Clark County Sheriff's Office, a sheriff's deputy arrested Erika Kovalevska from Jeffersonville and Samantha Perez from Charlestown on April 23.

Chief Deputy Scottie Maples said officers responded to a vacant home on Marion Martin Rd. in Charlestown early Saturday morning to look into a report of a person living there. When they arrived, they found the two women inside.

The women were questioned and Kovalesvka told officers that she had been canvassing the area and noticed that the house was empty. The release says she admitted to entering the house and cleaning it so she could "move in."

Maples said the women brought belongings, took selfies while cleaning the home and ordered pizza to be delivered to the address.

Kovalesvka told police that she didn't know who owned the house but she was aware of "squatter's rights."

"She admitted she was preparing to be an attorney and knew she had rights as a squatter and was going to live in the house for free," Maples said. "And we promptly arrested her." 

Maples said the women got inside the home around midnight, so it wasn't long before the property owner, who lived nearby, knew something was amiss. 

"I don't know the legal side but I do know it doesn't pick up in five hours and that is a crime," Maples said. 

Bart Mcmahon, an attorney licensed in both Kentucky and Indiana, said there's essentially no such thing as "squatter's rights," calling the phrase a misnomer. The idea is loosely based on a concept established during the formation of property law called adverse possession.

“At that point you can file an action and basically you have stolen someone’s land, but the law allows that," Mcmahon said.

Adverse possession occurs when someone openly possesses and cares for a property as their own for a specific amount of time. In Indiana, that period is 10 years and it's 15 years in Kentucky. 

However, Mcmahon said adverse possession takes years to prove and is more often used for rural plots of land than houses and other residential structures. He added he's only handled one such case, and judge's often disfavor the statute. 

“So when somebody says squatters right," he said. "They’re basically thumbing their nose at the true owner’s property rights and also the law.”

Mcmahon added pleas of squatter's rights are more often heard in rental cases, when a lease has run out and the tenant refuses to leave. He said those types of cases became more common during the pandemic, but the idea of squatter's rights "carries no water in court." 

Chief Deputy Maples said it's important to be vigilant, especially over properties you may own but where you aren't living. He suggested installing security cameras as a way to protect yourself and your property.

"Those things help us out tremendously I couldn’t tell you how many cases we solve just from Ring doorbells," he said. “Even if it turns out to be nothing we’d rather go check so if you see something say something.”

According to the Clark County Sheriff, officers said they also found methamphetamine and a glass smoking pipe inside the house. The release says Perez admitted that she and Kovalesvka had been smoking meth.

Kovalesvka and Perez are facing Residential Entry and drug charges. Maples said the charges are both felonies. 

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