Philadelphia Squatters Take Over Woman’s House: ‘You Literally Have No Protection’
A Philadelphia property owner is locked in a legal nightmare after squatters took over her home, trashed the property, and continue to occupy it — all while the city offers little recourse.
Naydia Smith, who co-owns the home with business partner Richard Watson, says squatters broke in around April or May and have been living in squalor ever since. The discovery came in early June after Watson’s parents received an anonymous tip. When they confronted the intruders on June 7, a man identifying himself as Antonio Stewart claimed he had legally rented the home and presented a one-page lease dated April 1, 2025 — which turned out to be fake.
When Smith visited the property a week later, what she found shocked her: a filthy house, broken locks, vermin infestation, and five unsupervised children between the ages of 2 and 14. “The house was in disarray,” Smith said. “Beds and clothes on the floor, roaches everywhere, no adults present.”
Despite obvious signs of forced entry and fake documents, police refused to remove the intruders. “They tried to label it a squatter dispute instead of a criminal breaking and entering,” Smith said, frustrated by how easily criminals exploit legal loopholes.
Smith filed a report with the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services over the abandoned children, but got no response. Neither did The Daily Wire when it reached out to city and state agencies. The squatters presented police with the phony lease and a gas bill, but had no water or electric bills. The electric company confirmed they’d been contacted to restore power — Smith intervened to block the request.
Inside the house, Smith uncovered another fake lease for a completely different property in Elmwood Park, also with Stewart’s name on it. She believes these squatters are professionals. “They know exactly how to game the system. The woman even told me, ‘You know what to do. You have to go downtown and evict us.’”
Documents suggest the couple had previously been paid $1,500 by another landlord to vacate a separate property — reinforcing Smith’s belief that these are “career squatters” cycling through homes and scamming homeowners.
And under Philadelphia law, Smith can’t simply evict them. Instead, she’s stuck with a long and expensive legal process known as ejectment — the only way to remove someone not bound by a valid lease. Smith filed ejectment paperwork on June 13, but it can take weeks just to serve the papers, followed by another 20-day window for a response, and potentially a court date after that.
In the meantime, Smith is hemorrhaging money: no rental income, continued mortgage payments, and looming repair and extermination costs. Worse, attorneys are reluctant to take ejectment cases. “It’s $5,000 for a lawyer,” she said. “Why do I have to pay that just to get someone out who broke in?”
“I am the rightful owner, and I can’t understand why it’s so hard to eject someone who has no right to your place — your home — something that you’ve worked so hard for,” Smith added.
Her story is emblematic of a squatter epidemic spreading across America. Newsweek’s 2024 squatting map shows cities like Atlanta, Dallas, and Orlando have been flooded with cases — many involving forged leases and lengthy legal delays. States like Florida and Georgia have begun cracking down with new laws, but Pennsylvania lags behind.
Smith said she’s received no help from city council, the mayor, or the governor. “Where is the arrest warrant for the people who broke into the home?” she asked. “It’s ridiculous that people can break the law and then be protected by it.”
She’s still waiting for her day in court — and for the City of Philadelphia to finally stand up for property owners like her.