nypost.com Open in urlscan Pro
192.0.66.32  Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

Close the sidebar
 * US News
   * Metro
   * Politics
 * World News
 * Page Six
 * Sports
   * NFL
   * MLB
   * NBA
   * NHL
   * College Football
   * College Basketball
 * Post Sports+
 * Sports Betting
 * Business
   * Personal Finance
 * Opinion
 * Entertainment
   * TV
   * Movies
   * Music
   * Celebrities
   * Awards
   * Theater
 * Shopping
 * Lifestyle
   * Weird But True
   * Health
     * Fitness
     * Health Care
     * Medicine
     * Men’s Health
     * Women’s Health
     * Mental Health
     * Nutrition
   * Sex & Relationships
   * Viral Trends
   * Human Interest
   * Parenting
   * Fashion & Beauty
   * Food & Drink
   * Travel
 * Real Estate
 * Alexa
 * Media
 * Tech
 * Astrology
 * Video
 * Photos
 * Visual Stories
 * * Today’s Paper
   * Covers
   * Columnists
   * Horoscopes
   * Crosswords & Games
   * Sports Odds
   * Podcasts
   * Careers
 * * Email Newsletters
   * Official Store
   * Home Delivery
   * Tips

Close the sidebar
Menu
 * Facebook
 * Twitter
 * Flipboard
 * WhatsApp
 * Email
 * 

TRENDING NOW IN US NEWS

Skip to main content

DAD OF FLORIDA CRUISE PASSENGER, 20, WHO JUMPED OFF CRUISE SHIP...

JERSEY SHORE TEACHER CHARGED WITH HAVING SEX WITH HER STUDENT IN...

PORSCHE-DRIVING LI SQUATTERS EVICTED BY SHERIFF'S DEPUTIES WHO...

Metro

exclusive


SQUATTER SUBLETS NYC APARTMENT WHILE OWING ‘BETRAYED’ LANDLORD $72K IN RENT

By Matthew Sedacca

Published April 13, 2024
Updated April 13, 2024, 11:20 a.m. ET

A crafty squatter bilked his landlord of at least $72,000 in rent for his Lower
East Side apartment — then made tens of thousands in profit by subletting the
unit, the owner charges.

For three years, computer programmer Thor Boucher hasn’t paid a cent of his
bargain-rate $2,000-a-month, two-bedroom, one-bathroom Essex Street pad,
claiming he didn’t have to because the building was noisy and shook, according
to landlord Ed Yau and Manhattan Civil Court documents.

Advertisement

The alleged freeloader had no qualms renting the space out, though, charging as
much as $1950 per room monthly since November 2021 on platforms including Airbnb
and Craigslist.

5
A crafty squatter bilked his landlord of at least $72,000 in rent for his Lower
East Side apartment — then made tens of thousands in profit by subletting the
unit, the owner charges. Courtesy of Ed Yau
5
Boucher hasn’t paid rent for three years on his two-bedroom apartment, according
to his frustrated landlord. Courtesy of Ed Yau

Advertisement


EXPLORE MORE


DAD OF FLORIDA CRUISE PASSENGER, 20, WHO JUMPED OFF CRUISE SHIP AFTER ARGUMENT
BELIEVES HIS SON IS STILL ALIVE: REPORT


JERSEY SHORE TEACHER CHARGED WITH HAVING SEX WITH HER STUDENT IN A CAR PARKED IN
A WILDLIFE REFUGE


PORSCHE-DRIVING LI SQUATTERS EVICTED BY SHERIFF'S DEPUTIES WHO CHANGED LOCKS,
REMOVED THEIR BELONGINGS

“I feel betrayed by my politicians, the bureaucracy,” Yau told The Post. 

“The system needs to be fair because right now it’s easily exploited,” he added.
“Housing court is not functioning so rent is optional — they don’t have to pay
and nothing is going to happen to them.”

Advertisement

The man currently in Yau’s apartment said he moved in October and confirmed he
paid rent to Boucher — but declined to share how much and said he had no clue
Boucher was bilking the landlord.

“You’ll have to talk to Thor,” he said repeatedly, before shutting the door. 

Yau slammed Boucher as a “professional grifter,” who stopped paying rent less
than three months after inking his December 2020 lease. Efforts to boot Boucher
have been stymied by the state’s tenant-friendly laws and the housing court
system “bending over backwards for the tenant,” Yau said. 

Advertisement

5
The alleged freeloader charges as much as $1950 per room monthly to subletters.
Courtesy of Ed Yau

Boucher also applied in 2022 and 2023 to the state’s COVID rent-relief program,
which effectively barred Yau from evicting his tenant during the application
process.

Yau claims his state reps, State Sen. Brian Kavanagh, the chamber’s Housing
Committee chair and a strong advocate for tenant protections, and state
Assemblywoman Grace Lee, have been little help.

Advertisement

“They gave sympathy, but no action,” he said. “Just lip service.”

Elected officials are more likely to pursue legislation and policies benefiting
tenants over landlords in order to appeal to a wider voter base, Yau said.

Gov. Hochul and the top state legislators reached an initial housing deal Friday
for the delayed state budget that would include a variant of the “Good Cause
Eviction” bill pushed for years by lefty lawmakers.

Advertisement

5
Boucher has rented rooms in the apartment out on Airbnb and Craigslist since
Nov. 2021. Courtesy of Ed Yau

The preliminary agreement would allow tenants in market-rate units who face
eviction to drag landlords to housing court if their annual rent is jacked up
more than 5% plus the latest Consumer Price Index or 10% overall, sources said.

Landlords also would have to automatically renew leases for tenants who are up
to date on their rent payments.

Advertisement

Squatter horror stories like Yau’s, meanwhile, will scare landlords to pull
their units from the market, warned Ann Korchak, president of the industry group
Small Property Owners of New York

5
Landlord Ed Yau said he felt “betrayed” by his politicians and housing court
bureaucracy. Helayne Seidman

“If it’s a small building, if one person stops paying, that’s the difference
between you being able to pay your taxes and mortgage or not,” she said.

Advertisement

“The average person who has a 1-3 family house is so risk averse because they
hear these stories [and think] ‘Without any support I’ll be stuck housing
somebody for such a long time.'”

What do you think? Post a comment.

Boucher, Kavanagh, and Lee did not respond to requests for comment.


Ad



SHARE THIS:


Filed under lawsuit ,  lower east side ,  squatters ,  4/13/24
Load more...

{{#isDisplay}}


{{/isDisplay}}{{#isAniviewVideo}} {{/isAniviewVideo}}{{#isSRVideo}}
{{/isSRVideo}}



TRENDING NOW

 1. Clint Eastwood, 93, spotted in rare appearance with Jane Goodall at event in
    California
 2. Dad of Florida cruise passenger, 20, who jumped off cruise ship after
    argument believes his son is still alive: report
 3. Mom killed in Sydney mall stabbing spree threw wounded infant to stranger in
    bid to protect her from knife-wielding maniac
 4. Jersey Shore teacher charged with having sex with her student in a car
    parked in a wildlife refuge
 5. Porsche-driving LI squatters evicted by sheriff's deputies who changed
    locks, removed their belongings
 6. Michael Strahan's daughter Isabella undergoes third brain surgery, chemo is
    delayed

https://nypost.com/2024/04/13/us-news/squatter-sublets-nyc-apartment-while-owing-landlord-72k-in-rent/?utm_source=url_sitebuttons&utm_medium=site%20buttons&utm_campaign=site%20buttons
Copy the URL to share
 * Post Sports+
 * Email Newsletters
 * Mobile Apps
 * Contact Us
 * Tips

 * Facebook
 * Twitter
 * Instagram
 * LinkedIn
 * Email
 * YouTube

© 2024 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Terms of Use | Privacy

Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information/Opt-Out
Exit mobile version