BALTIMORE (WBFF) — Baltimore Police arrived Thursday morning to a rowhome on the 5900 block of Glenkirk Road in East Baltimore’s quiet Ramblewood neighborhood, where a property manager said squatters had changed the locks, removed a lockbox and moved into a house that was supposed to be vacant.
Hours later, officers left without removing anyone.
The alleged squatters, according to the property manager, produced no lease, no proof of residency and no utility bills tying them to the home. BGE service remained in the owner’s name. Still, he said police determined they could not classify the people inside as unlawful squatters or force them out.
“They said their hands are tied,” said the property manager, who asked not to be identified for safety reasons.
As officers responded to the scene, a more than $20 Burger King order arrived at the disputed property through DoorDash, labeled for “Ayonna M.”
An order from DoorDash sat for hours on the stoop of a home in the 5900 block of Glenkirk Road in East Baltimore on Thursday, May 28, 2026, whose property manager said it was allegedly taken over by squatters. (Zackary Lang/Spotlight on Maryland)
The standoff offered the latest real-time look at what property owners, investors, realtors and management companies across Maryland say continues despite new state laws targeting fraudulent leases and organized squatting schemes. Even after lawmakers moved this year to strengthen criminal penalties, disputed takeovers can still leave homeowners trapped between alleged criminal conduct and a civil court system critics say moves too slowly to protect them.
The property manager said the first red flag appeared on Wednesday during a scheduled inspection required before the home could be deemed an appropriate Section 8 property for disadvantaged Marylanders. He said the rowhome had been vacant and was being prepared for a legitimate tenant.
But when the inspector arrived, the lockbox was gone.
“He did knock on the door,” the property manager said. “They opened the door and stated that they rented the house and they had been there for two weeks.”
That explanation immediately triggered concern.
This property should have been vacant,” he said. “We knew, based on that, right away, this is another textbook squatter slash scam situation.”
By Thursday, the property manager called 911.
“We showed up to our house today and it looks like we have an active break-in,” he told dispatchers.
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Standing outside the home he said he had been locked out of, the property manager pointed to what he described as signs of forced entry.
It looks like our locks were changed, so it could be that they drilled our locks and entered through the front door,” he said. “We had a lockbox on the property that is now missing.”
As police arrived on the block, neighbors came outside. A woman next door said the uncertainty left her worried about who was now inside the home beside hers.
“With squatters, they’re in-and-out,” she said. “You don’t know what kind of people are staying there, what kind of … trouble that is coming to the community.”
The woman asked for her name not to be used for fear of possible danger.
Police knocked on the door while the food delivery sat on the front porch.
“Police!” an officer called from outside.
Baltimore Police Department officers arrived just after 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 28, 2026, at the 5900 block of Glenkirk Road in East Baltimore for a breaking-and-entering call for service after a property manager claimed he found an alleged squatter inside. (Zackary Lang/Spotlight on Maryland)
Eventually, a woman who had interrupted Spotlight on Maryland’s earlier interview with the property manager approached the home and entered with officers after asking not to be filmed.
The property manager, holding documents showing his company owned the rowhome, remained outside.
This is my house,” the property owner said before the door slammed.
About an hour later, another man arrived at the property and asked to go inside, saying he had a 2-year-old son inside the location. That child appeared to have been left alone by the woman earlier.
Officers later cleared the scene without removing the occupants.
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By then, the property manager said the case had reached the same frustrating dead end that property owners in other suspected squatter disputes have described for months.
“Even though the tenant could not provide any lease at all or any proof of residency at all, BGE is still in our name, they determined they could not remove them,” he said. “They did not classify them as a squatter or anything at all.”
Spotlight on Maryland reported last year that Baltimore Police policy generally directs officers to treat squatter disputes as civil matters when occupants claim tenancy rights, often leaving owners to pursue lengthy court proceedings before regaining control of their homes.
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Spotlight on Maryland asked BPD why officers were unable to remove the occupants and whether officers investigated the apparent presence of a young child left alone inside the disputed property. The department acknowledged the questions but did not respond.
The East Baltimore incident comes after more than a year of Spotlight on Maryland reporting documenting alleged squatter takeovers across the state.
State lawmakers responded this year with legislation aimed at cracking down on fraudulent leases, including making possession of certain fake leases a felony. The law was signed by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and is set to take effect in July.
A Maryland property manager found that his East Baltimore home was allegedly taken over by squatters after a home inspector could not gain access on Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (Zackary Lang/Spotlight on Maryland)
But Thursday’s case shows why property managers say the new law may not be enough.
“It can only be charged as a felony if they decide to pursue it criminally,” the property manager said. “If they determine it’s a civil matter, you still have to go through the wrongful detainer process and work your way through the courts.”
He said the larger problem remains unresolved.
“The most important thing is to actually define what a squatter actually is,” he said.
The property manager said the occupants were given until noon the following day to leave. Otherwise, he said he will take all action necessary to regain control of the property, including removing doors and windows to make the alleged squatters “as comfortable as possible.”
Have you experienced or had direct knowledge of squatting or unauthorized occupancy occurring in Maryland? Do you have any tips related to this story? Send news tips to gmcollins@sbgtv.com or contact Spotlight on Maryland’s hotline at (410) 467-4670.
Follow Gary Collins on X and Instagram. Spotlight on Maryland is a collaboration between FOX45 News, WJLA in Washington, D.C., and The Baltimore Sun.
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