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I'm pretty happy with the similar "squatter's rights" laws. Abandoned property is generally a drag on a community (e.g. lower property values, danger to childr

• tptacek 15y ago
  That's not why we have squatter's rights laws. As a rational economic matter, squatters are not incentivized to provide good upkeep; in most states, the only thing that requires them to perform any upkeep are village building codes.
  • kragen 15y ago
    > the only thing that requires [incentivizes] them to perform any upkeep are village building codes. Well, and the fact that if they don't scrape and repaint the peeling paint in the living room, they have to live in a living room with peeling paint. I just came back from fixing my bike at a pizzería that's been squatted for about ten years now by a group of local anarchists and other socialists, who have converted it into a community center. Twice a week they have bike-fixing workshops, where they teach you to fix your bike and supply you with the tools and the parts you need. (And solicit donations.) The place is a lot better maintained than many buildings I've been in around here. If your beliefs about incentives and rational economic matters fail to describe how people actually behave, you should revise your beliefs. (Yes, squatting is risky, because you could lose everything you've worked for. It would be particularly amusing if you were really arguing that risking working for years and then losing everything is irrational on a web site devoted to high-tech startups.)