Stratford cracking down on vacant property after squatters take over house

The Town of Stratford is reminding people who own vacant buildings to secure them — and warning folks not to trespass on property which isn’t theirs.

According to the document package for Wednesday night’s council meeting, RCMP got a call in March about a person approaching a vacant property on Horton Drive.

Officers found four people inside “who appeared to have moved in,” said Coun. Jody Jackson, chair of safety services for the town. He said the RCMP told them to leave and not return.

“We’ve had some concerns over the last couple years since [post-tropical storm] Fiona around the state of the property — you know, trees on the roof and just generally unoccupied. So we always feared that there may be some chance for folks to move in there,” he said.

The property, at 9 Horton Drive, sits on the waterfront on the Stratford side of the Hillsborough Bridge.

As well as people living inside the building, police found stolen items during the March call that were returned to the rightful owners, according to Wednesday night’s council package.

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