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Tatyana Day Velasquez seeks to reclaim D.C. property from squatters who turned a basement unit into a drug haven

Tatyana Day Velasquez is currently engaged in a months-long legal battle to remove unauthorized occupants from the basement apartment of her three-unit building in Columbia Heights. The property owner reported that the squatters have turned the unit into a drug haven, characterized by constant fights, a chemical odor, and an abundance of drug paraphernalia including needles, fentanyl test strips, and firearms. According to court documents, Velasquez discovered the occupants after a previous tenant moved out, despite the lease explicitly prohibiting unauthorized occupants and drug-related criminal activity. While one occupant claimed to have received a key from the previous tenant, police records from June 26 indicate that one individual had established residency by living with a tenant on the lease, leading officers to treat the matter as a landlord-tenant dispute rather than a criminal arrest. Under D.C. law, property owners must seek relief through D.C. Superior Court because occupants must be given the opportunity to challenge claims before an eviction can proceed. Velasquez noted that she has been assaulted during her daily confrontations with the squatters. The U.S. Marshals were recently involved in order to serve an eviction, though the problem remains unresolved as the occupants have returned to the property multiple times.

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