squatters
Uninvited property dwellers
Squatters are people who occupy property—typically land or buildings—without legal right or payment.
The term carries connotations of illegitimacy, though squatters may occupy abandoned structures out of necessity: Squatters had been living in the condemned building for years.
In some legal systems, long-term squatters can eventually claim ownership rights.
Squatter also names someone in a squatting position, or historically, a settler on unclaimed land.
Those who establish homes
- homesteadersLand-claiming rural settlers
- pioneersFirst to explore territory
- colonizersThose who establish foreign control
- land grabRapid territorial acquisition
frontier · shantytown · favela · informal settlement · slum · occupation · encampment · commune
Lacking stable housing
- displacedShifted from proper location
- transientsTemporary occupants or travelers
- encampmentTemporary military or refugee settlement
- rough sleepingSleeping outdoors without housing
destitute · vagrants · indigent · streetlife · survival · shelter · tent city · cardboard
Unauthorized presence on property
- evictionForced departure from rental
- encroachmentGradual intrusion on territory
- unlawfulForbidden by statute
- unauthorizedNot officially permitted
illegal · occupation · prosecution · penalties · arrest · violation · intrusion · ordinance
Forced departure from rental
- litigationLegal dispute process
- conflictOpposition between parties
- mediationIntervention to resolve conflict
- negotiationDiscussion seeking mutual accord
landlord · tension · controversy · contention · court · jurisdiction · settlement · compromise
Permanent occupants of place
Left behind completely
- derelictAbandoned or neglectful
- dilapidatedRuined through neglect
- vacantWithout an occupant
- condemnedOfficially declared unfit
shanty · shack · hovel · ramshackle · makeshift · tenement · uninhabited · reclaimed
settlers
Those who establish homes
- homesteadersLand-claiming rural settlers
- pioneersFirst to explore territory
- colonizersThose who establish foreign control
land grab · frontier · shantytown · favela · informal settlement · slum · occupation · encampment · commune · self-built
unhoused
Lacking stable housing
- displacedShifted from proper location
- transientsTemporary occupants or travelers
- encampmentTemporary military or refugee settlement
rough sleeping · destitute · vagrants · indigent · streetlife · survival · shelter · tent city · cardboard · blankets
trespassing
Unauthorized presence on property
- evictionForced departure from rental
- encroachmentGradual intrusion on territory
- unlawfulForbidden by statute
unauthorized · illegal · occupation · prosecution · penalties · arrest · violation · intrusion · ordinance · removal
eviction
Forced departure from rental
- litigationLegal dispute process
- conflictOpposition between parties
- mediationIntervention to resolve conflict
negotiation · landlord · tension · controversy · contention · court · jurisdiction · settlement · compromise · standoff
inhabitants
Permanent occupants of place
- dwellersThose who occupy space
- residentsPeople living somewhere
- occupiersThose currently dwelling somewhere
lodgers · tenants · settlers · cohabitants
abandoned
Left behind completely
- derelictAbandoned or neglectful
- dilapidatedRuined through neglect
- vacantWithout an occupant
condemned · shanty · shack · hovel · ramshackle · makeshift · tenement · uninhabited · reclaimed · barricaded
- Northwest TerritoryNorthwest Territory, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan
- property disputesboundary dispute, land disputes, boundary disputes, land dispute, neighbor dispute
- fitness peoplegym rats, fitness buffs, bodybuilders, weightlifters, weight lifters
- frontierfrontier, pioneer, pioneers, settlers, settler
- frontier lifehomesteaders, farmer, homesteading, shepherd, pioneer women
- Australian HistoryCaptain Cook, Commonwealth, federation, explorers, Liberal Party
squatterstenants
Property renters
renters · leaseholders · lodgers · licensees · lessees
squatterslandowners
Holders of real property
rightful owners · homeowners · landlords · freeholders · titleholders
- squatter's rightsOwnership through prolonged occupation
- squatters' rightsOwnership through continuous occupation
- squatter rightsClaim through continuous occupation
- squatter campIllegal improvised housing settlement
- squatter settlementsUnauthorized improvised housing communities
- cyber squattersThose hoarding web addresses