I once had a landlord in Los Angeles who rented out rooms in his house for about $900, which is ridiculously cheap for the city. Unfortunately, the landlord turned out to be more of a slumlord. One time, he left tomatoes on the counter and let them mold, leaving fruit flies all over the house. He also did not let us use the A/C, so the house would get to around 85°F in the summer. The air quality was so bad that I was hospitalized due to my asthma. I never thought I could have a crazier housing situation…boy was I wrong.

Have you ever rented an apartment unit in college or in the city? If so, you might recall a time when you encountered a noisy neighbor. Quick-build luxury apartments often breed noise pollution because management companies will sacrifice high quality building material for cheap alternatives. The result is disruptive noise, frustrated tenants, and deceptive leasing agents looking to sell units quickly.

Imagine finding out that a person suddenly gains ownership of your property. This would send any person into a frenzy. But that is exactly what the doctrine of Adverse Possession allows. While it doesn’t frequently make headlines, Adverse Possession—sometimes referred to as “Squatter’s Rights”—is a growing concern among property owners nationwide. It essentially enables a non-owner to gain title to land or personal property after the owner fails to recover possession.

The sitcom television show Friends, follows a group of friends in their twenties living in New York City. Much of the show’s comedy stems from the group’s struggle to make money in NYC. A main character, Monica, was trying to make it as a chef, going through a variety of low paying jobs, like waitressing. However, much of the show is filmed in her large, two-bedroom, West Village apartment. It begs the question, how can a twenty-something waitress in NYC afford a huge West Village apartment? The answer was given when her landlord, Treeger, threatened to evict Monica because she was illegally subletting the apartment from her grandmother to keep a rent-controlled price. Monica had lived there for five years at this point and because she was never allowed to live in the apartment, was a trespasser. However, when Joey taught Treeger to ballroom dance, he let her continue to live there for over ten years. Does Monica have a claim for adverse possession?