Landlord struggles to get rid of squatter

NEW YORK, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- A New York landlord trying to get rid of a squatter in one of his apartments said the man has so far cost him $6,400 in lost rent.

Tibor Karakas said Brian Wiley, 33, moved into the apartment when the previous tenant took him on as a roommate earlier this year, but Wiley failed to vacate the $1,600-per-month apartment in the city's Queens borough when the woman's lease expired and she left in late April, the New York Post reported Tuesday.

Karakas said Wiley initially only asked for a few extra days to clear out of the residence and later said he was planning to rent the abode, but he never provided a down payment or filled out an application.

Wiley, who works as a waiter at the upscale Prime House restaurant, was served formal eviction papers in June, but a court gave him an extension to the end of last month when he claimed he had been scammed out of $600 while attempting to rent another residence.

However, Karakas said Wiley has continued to refuse to leave and the landlord, who has already spent $1,000 in legal fees attempting to get rid of the unwanted tenant, said he is taking the case back to court.

"He's not your typical squatter," Karakas said. "I think he goes from apartment to apartment doing this. He knows the law. He knows what he's doing. He knows it will take me six months to get him out."