Maryland Lawmakers Target Squatters, Making Fraudulent Leases a Felony

A viral video of a suspected squatter in Northwest Baltimore set off a chain of events that ended in Annapolis this week, as the Maryland General Assembly advanced two bills that would make fraudulent lease agreements a felony and launch a blockchain-based study to help law enforcement verify who actually owns a property.

The investigation by Spotlight on Maryland began after Kaniya Washington posted videos online showcasing what was purported to be a squatter home in Northwest Baltimore. After reporters reached the property management company and the occupant inside the home, both said Washington seized the property without permission. Baltimore police, however, treated the situation as a civil dispute because a lease had been presented, illustrating the core legal gap the new legislation aims to close.

Del. Mike Griffith, a Republican representing Harford and Cecil counties, pushed the bill that would make the creation and possession of fraudulent lease agreements a felony offense. "It is an important first step to increase this penalty to a felony," Griffith said. "We're talking about people who are counterfeiting, forging leases and rental agreements, and also possessing them."

The legislation carries bipartisan backing. Sen. Ron Watson, D-Prince George's County, said the two bills together make the use of a fraudulent lease a felony and will study the use of blockchain technology for law enforcement to determine the rightful owner of an illegally taken home. Griffith cross-filed Watson's Senate legislation in the House. "Squatters don't discriminate," Griffith said. "They don't care if it's a Republican home or a Democrat home. They're going to find a weakness in the system."

The human cost of that weakness has been well-documented throughout Spotlight on Maryland's yearlong reporting. Ze Wang, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, said his home was taken over by squatters for nearly 59 days in late December 2025. Wang's case highlights a growing legal gray area in Maryland: when someone presents a lease, even one a homeowner insists is fraudulent, police typically treat the situation as a civil landlord-tenant dispute, leaving property owners with no immediate recourse.

Under current law, it can take more than two years for a county sheriff's office to be authorized to remove a squatter from a property. The proposed legislation would shorten that timeline significantly by giving law enforcement a faster path to act when ownership can be verified.

The blockchain bill would establish a pilot program exploring whether real-time property title verification could prevent the fraudulent-lease tactic entirely, cutting off the scheme before squatters can entrench themselves and force expensive, months-long court proceedings.

The bills now await final action before potentially heading to Gov. Wes Moore's desk.