HALLANDALE BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a new bill into law to give homeowners more power when dealing with squatters.
Squatting is defined as people moving into or onto another person’s property without permission.
“You assume in America, if you purchase a home and own a residence, that’s your residence,” said DeSantis.
People may think that to get the squatter out of the home, just call police. But it can be a lot trickier than that.
“We are, in the State of Florida, ending the squatter scam,” said DeSantis.
Prior to this bill being signed into law, squatters were considered to be tenants, and there is a process to evicting these tenants.
Under the new law, signed by the governor in Orlando on Wednesday, a property owner can request law enforcement to immediately remove a squatter from their property if the following conditions are met:
- The individual has unlawfully entered and remains on the property.
- The individual has been directed to leave the property by the owner but has not done so.
- The individual is not a current or former tenant in a legal dispute.
The new law also increases penalties for those engaging, encouraging or teaching others ways to be squatters. These penalties include:
- A first-degree misdemeanor for making a false statement in writing to obtain real property or for knowingly and willfully presenting a falsified document conveying property rights.
- A second-degree felony for any person who unlawfully occupies or trespasses in a residential dwelling and who intentionally causes $1,000 or more in damages.
- A first-degree felony for knowingly advertising the sale or rent of a residential property without legal authority or ownership.
Squatting is not foreign to South Florida, as it has seen its own fair share of incidents.
“They just come in, they break in, and this is their home,” said Natasha Johnson, who said squatters took over her property.
Back in 2021, 7Investigates spoke to Johnson, who at the time was expecting to inherit a duplex from her father. However, when she arrived to renovate the property in hopes of renting it out, she found squatters had taken over the home.
“The city didn’t have my back. The governor didn’t have my back,” said Johnson. “I was depressed, headaches all the time, constantly thinking about what am I going to do.”
She said it took eight years to kick the squatters out.
“The officers, they wouldn’t do anything. They told me, I mean I told, they saw the squatters in the house,” said Johnson. “They told me I couldn’t even go inside the house to talk to them.”
By that time, Johnson said, the squatters had already made themselves at home.
“They moved in a refrigerator, a stove,” said Johnson. “Supposedly they put some tile down. They’re turning on the water, they’re turning on the lights. I’ve called down there, to the water company, because they’re now sending me bills.”
Johnson said the law came too late.
“Should’ve have that a long time ago. Now, I’m stuck with damages,” she said.
Johnson said the new law would’ve saved her an unimaginable amount of stress after she lost thousands of dollars in unpaid rent and damages. She said she wishes there was a program homeowners like her could enroll in to recoup some of the money she lost.
The law will help homeowners like Johnson get back what is rightfully theirs more quickly.
“You’re not going to be able to commandeer someone’s private property,” said DeSantis.
The law is set to go into effect on July 1.
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