With the passage of a new bill on Monday that increases the authority of state law enforcement to evict squatters and stiffens penalties for violators, homeowners in Florida may now have the means to safeguard their property without having to wait for drawn-out legal proceedings.
Using HB 621, Gov. Ron DeSantis stated that his state is “ending this squatter scam once and for all” in a video uploaded to X.
After signing the bill in March, DeSantis said at a press conference at the Orange County State Attorney’s Office, “While other states are siding with the squatters, we are protecting property owners and punishing criminals looking to game the system.”
DeSantis previously explained the rule to Sean Hannity, saying that, “We’ve got people that will be here for seven months of the year, and then they’ll go to Michigan or New York or even Canada. You come back after the summer and someone’s in your house, and then they just get to stay there for six months. Now in Florida, you call up, you fill out a form, the sheriff comes, and the sheriff kicks him out of your property.”
“If we don’t have private property rights, we will not have a free society, so it is the bedrock Florida stands by, and we’re proud to do it,” he added.
Even before the measure was passed, the legal procedure in Florida for evicting a squatter from a property was among the quickest in the nation, taking roughly a month, according to attorney Kevin Fabrikant, supervisor of Florida’s Eviction Law Firm, who spoke with Fox News Digital.
In contrast, squatters in places like California and New York have caused some homeowners to endure months-long headaches.
Even before the measure was passed, the legal procedure in Florida for evicting a squatter from a property was among the quickest in the nation, taking roughly a month, according to attorney Kevin Fabrikant, supervisor of Florida’s Eviction Law Firm, who spoke with Fox News Digital.
In contrast, squatters in places like California and New York have caused some homeowners to endure months-long headaches.
However, the new rule will allow law enforcement officials who were previously powerless to carry out evictions without going through the legal system, provided that the homeowner provides an affidavit and the invader satisfies a number of requirements:
The squatter must have entered the property illegally, must have already received a request to vacate from the homeowner, cannot be a tenant in the home now or in the past, and cannot be a direct family of the homeowner attempting to evict them.
“It’s designed for a very narrow situation – if you let somebody into your property and you want them out, it likely may not apply,” Fabrikant stated.
According to Fabrikant, a typical removal fee with a local sheriff’s department would run you $115 in Miami and $90 in the majority of Florida counties.
“If you’re a squatter, I wouldn’t come to Florida to live,” Fabrikant stated.
The new law mandates that the sheriff remove the squatter when officials confirm ownership and find the plaintiff qualified.
The bill states that those who “encourage or engage in squatting” will be subject to harsher penalties.
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Falsifying documents or making false written assertions is a first-degree misdemeanor for squatters who fabricate leases or other proof of residency.
It is now possible to be charged with a second-degree misdemeanor if someone damages property by $1,000 or more while it is occupied.
“Somebody breaks into the house, destroys the house, that’s [the type of person] the governor intended [to police with this law],” Fabrikant stated. “Those people cause immeasurable damages to have handymen or contractors fix what these squatters are doing to a property.”
A first-degree felony will now be applied to anyone who willfully advertises the sale or rental of residential property without the owner’s consent.
It’s unclear how the new law would affect Florida police enforcement.
“There are times when the sheriffs are put in a tough spot because of the language and the claims that the occupant might make,” Fabrikant stated. “In all likelihood, the sheriff’s office will be liable to a civil suit… if they remove someone wrongfully they would tend to get sued.”
