Posted on 03/15/2024 5:59:25 AM PDT by V_TWIN
House Bill 621 authorizes property owners to request action by the sheriff's office to immediately remove squatters.
Now, squatters will soon face criminal charges for violation.
HB621, allows property owners to file an affidavit showing the property doesn't belong to those who are occupying it.
The bill creates stiff penalties for violators, like a 2nd degree felony for damage to a home and a 1st degree felony for fraudulently selling or leasing the property.
The sheriff is required to serve the notice and remove unwanted occupants without delay.
"This is an important bill if you see the stories that happen," Perry said. "It is egregious what people are getting away with under legislation."
WEAR News has covered several squatter-ridden properties over the years, including a home Le Jeune Drive in Pensacola.
It has since been cleaned up, but not before a months-long battle in the courts.
Pensacola City Councilwoman Jennifer Brahier helped find a solution, but says the time it took was overwhelming.
"We still had to give them notice of eviction, they had to be given time," she said. "I think that's shocking to owners that someone's illegally in their home and yet they still have to go through that process. So I can see how this new law would really aid people in that situation."
Brahier says this bill is long overdue for both property owners and residents living nearby.
"It was affecting their wellbeing, their sense of security, their financial aspect," she said. "For people who've had someone take over their home, the idea that they have to do due rights with someone that's essentially stealing their home is pretty shocking for them."
"I hope this law helps others to be able to rectify a situation quicker," she added.
The bill is now awaiting the governor's signature.
(Excerpt) Read more at weartv.com ...
PING!
About time. I don’t know how squatter laws ever got on the books.
waaaaaay past time for this to become law nationwide.
“waaaaaay past time for this to become law nationwide.”
Here’s the thousand dollar question: what do we as a society do with “squatters” (to use today’s term for bums).
I’m referring to those that are being bums but are not obviously in need of care by the rest of us.
I’m not for providing a free, housed life for them.
throw them in jail first then out on the street. Not our problem.
FL continues to point the way for the GOP.
One of my closest friends in Oregon lost her condo to a squatter.
The Sheriff was legally prevented from doing anything.
Squatter situations are ten-fold with the open border, if not more.
Glad to say I’m a Floridian
Yup, but we’ll soon see how when leftist orgs sue to stop this law from being implemented after it’s signed. This is the part that folks behind this bill need to be ready for. Would be great if homeowners, their lawyers, realtors, the governor and legislators could get together to provide streaming-ready protest video and countersuits to affix blame on the leftist orgs/individuals who created this mess and need to be stomped for blocking this needed legislation.
Unfortunately, there’s a lot of instances of squatters posing as landlords and drafting up fake leases for others.
You wind up with a family signing a lease, paying a deposit, turning on the utilities, and moving in to a home that they legitimately thought they were legally renting only to discover the “landlord” was a squatter who broke in and changed the locks.
yeah, this legislation should be a model for all 57 states ...
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