Two stories caught my eye this week that have a loose connection, but raise a ton of questions ... at least in my mind. One is about a DC homeowner, who also happens to be a disabled Army veteran, who's facing foreclosure on her house because her tenant died and his live-in girlfriend is refusing to pay the rent despite still living there. The other is a new one to me – a woman in Florida who's refusing to leave her hospital room despite being discharged five months ago.
What is going on here? Why in the world do squatters seem to have more rights than the rest of us when they are clearly the bad guys?
There is apparently a distinction between what these two shameless squatters are doing versus something called "adverse possession." Adverse possession is a doctrine whereby a trespasser occupying land owned by someone else can legally get the title to it; I don't understand, either, but that's apparently a thing.
No, what we're talking about here are the scammers, freeloaders, and charlatans who are looking for a free ride. And the law, in many cases, seems to protect them, much to the detriment of the actual property owners.
I'm not sure if this is a coincidence, but reports of these brazen squatters seemed to escalate during and after COVID. It seemed that once renters were given grace on making payments to their landlords because of the pandemic, all bets were off and the scammers, ironically, went to work. One man made headlines in 2023 when he outsmarted the squatters occupying his mother's house after police refused to oust them because it was a "civil" matter, not a criminal one.
How can what's happening not be criminal?
In the case of Veronica Hegens, the DC landlord facing foreclosure, the squatter in question is Gwen Broadie. Broadie was the live-in girlfriend of Hegens' actual tenant, Phillip Graham. When Graham died last year, Broadie, who is not on the rental agreement, refused to leave the house. She also opted not to pay to live there, leaving Hegens in a bind.
Veronica Hegens thought she’d made a sound financial decision in September 2023 by renting out her row house in Southwest D.C.
— 7News DC (@7NewsDC) March 17, 2026
Now the retired Army major is in danger of losing the property to foreclosure because of a tenant who hasn’t paid rent since October and who also has no…
A termination letter was issued to Broadie, which she ignored.
When Hegens changed the locks to the rental unit on Oct. 1, 2025, Broadie took her to court and was able to get a judge to grant a temporary restraining order so she could remain in the upstairs apartment.
“I don't want to put no burdens on her. But I also don't want to be out in the street and don't have nowhere to go,” Broadie told 7News.
“It is not my job to take care of Miss Broadie. It was my job to take care of Phillip Graham,” Hegens responded.
There are a lot of layers to this story, but suffice it to say that the courts are clogged with similar cases where "tenants" refuse to pay and refuse to leave, so landlords are left footing the bill for the freeloaders. And, apparently, this doesn't constitute trespassing, so police cannot forcibly remove the squatters.
SEE ALSO: Florida Hospital Sues Squatter Patient After She's Still There 5 Months Past Discharge Date
Then there's the case of Florida woman Charlotte Paynter, covered earlier this week by our own Ward Clark. Paynter has taken squatting to a whole new level by refusing to leave her hospital room despite having been discharged in October.
NEW: Patient has been squatting in a Florida hospital for five months and refuses to leave her bed despite being discharged, a lawsuit alleges
— Unlimited L's (@unlimited_ls) March 19, 2026
Charlotte Paynter, 69, has allegedly been occupying Room 373 at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital since October
Paynter has allegedly… pic.twitter.com/aMPANTgAs1
From one report:
Paynter, 69, was admitted to the medical facility for treatment for an undisclosed condition last year, the hospital said in the complaint obtained by the Daily Mail.
Doctors issued a formal discharge order on October 6 after it was determined that she no longer needed acute care services, the filing said.
Paynter has allegedly 'refused to vacate' her hospital room even though medical staff have made 'repeated efforts' to help her 'safely complete discharge.'
Despite the hospital giving her a written notice to vacate in November, she has steadfastly refused to leave, thus gobbling up resources she doesn't need and preventing someone who does from having that bed. The hospital hasn't said what kind of billed Paynter has racked up, but you can bet it's significant. What are the odds Ms. Paynter will pay it?
The infantilization of adults in this country has gone way too far.
At some point, we apparently stopped expecting grown people to handle the most basic parts of life, including paying your rent or leaving when asked to. Instead, the system is increasingly bending over backward to accommodate the dysfunctional while loading the financial, emotional, and legal burdens onto the person who actually owns the property and is following the rules.
Compassion is one thing, but compelling private citizens, or even hospitals, for that matter, to absorb the costs is something else entirely. Squatters seem to have more rights than the rest of us – someone make it make sense.
