Moving unlawfully into private land will now result in criminal prosecution for squatters in Florida. On Wednesday, Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed legislation making squatting a crime. He also said that he thought Florida would be the first state to outright outlaw the practice.
"You cannot take control of someone else's property and think you can get away with it. DeSantis said at an Orlando news conference, "We are in the state of Florida stopping the squatter hoax once and for all.
One $500 million mansion in Bonita Springs was claimed to have had a squatter move in and be discovered in the owner's clothes.
The legislation permits owners to submit an affidavit proving ownership of the property and permits them to contact the sheriff's office to have squatters removed if they are unable to present documentation proving their right to occupy the space. Squatters were regarded as tenants prior to the legislation's enactment, and homeowners would have to fight long legal battles to get rid of them.
It is a second-degree criminal to damage a dwelling as a squatter, and a first-degree felony to falsely sell or lease real estate.
At the press conference, Seminole County Sheriff Dennis M. Lemma said, "I want to thank our legislative body, both our delegates here in central Florida and abroad, because this received unanimous support, and it is been long too often where we have seen homeowners that have spent their entire life working and earning." "Some people have inherited their parents' homes, and when they knock on the door, they find squatters there."
DeSantis attacked blue states California and New York for "siding" with squatters at the news conference.
He referred to the states as "siding with the squatters." Indeed, squatters have been known to settle in and claim residency. This necessitates a thorough, protracted legal examination before they are even allowed to leave the premises. These are individuals who never had the right to be on the land in the first place. A lady discovered squatters residing on a home she inherited when she returned to it earlier this month in New York. In order to free them, she changed the locks, and the state of New York detained her rather than the squatters.
"You cannot take control of someone else's property and think you can get away with it. DeSantis said at an Orlando news conference, "We are in the state of Florida stopping the squatter hoax once and for all.
One $500 million mansion in Bonita Springs was claimed to have had a squatter move in and be discovered in the owner's clothes.
The legislation permits owners to submit an affidavit proving ownership of the property and permits them to contact the sheriff's office to have squatters removed if they are unable to present documentation proving their right to occupy the space. Squatters were regarded as tenants prior to the legislation's enactment, and homeowners would have to fight long legal battles to get rid of them.
It is a second-degree criminal to damage a dwelling as a squatter, and a first-degree felony to falsely sell or lease real estate.
At the press conference, Seminole County Sheriff Dennis M. Lemma said, "I want to thank our legislative body, both our delegates here in central Florida and abroad, because this received unanimous support, and it is been long too often where we have seen homeowners that have spent their entire life working and earning." "Some people have inherited their parents' homes, and when they knock on the door, they find squatters there."
DeSantis attacked blue states California and New York for "siding" with squatters at the news conference.
He referred to the states as "siding with the squatters." Indeed, squatters have been known to settle in and claim residency. This necessitates a thorough, protracted legal examination before they are even allowed to leave the premises. These are individuals who never had the right to be on the land in the first place. A lady discovered squatters residing on a home she inherited when she returned to it earlier this month in New York. In order to free them, she changed the locks, and the state of New York detained her rather than the squatters.
