Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law on Wednesday that empowers residents in the state to have law enforcement immediately evict squatters from homes instead of having the situation devolve into a drawn out legal battle, and increases the criminal penalties against squatters.
DeSantis signed the bill at a press conference as recent incidents of home squatters have gone viral in Democrat strongholds like California and New York.
“So we’re here today because you assume in America if you purchase a home and own a residence that that’s your residence, that if you happen to maybe split time in Orlando and Michigan, that if you go to Michigan over the summer, people aren’t going to be able to just move into your house and then claim squatter’s rights on your private residence,” DeSantis said. “And yet, in places like New York and California, that’s exactly what’s happening in this country. Homes are being invaded, and those states and their laws are not siding with the homeowners, they’re siding with the squatters.”
DeSantis noted a recent incident in which a woman in New York was arrested for changing the locks at her own home because squatters had taken over.
“Just a few days ago, two squatters in New York City allegedly murdered the property owner when she confronted them for being in her apartment illegally,” he continued. “In fact, we even have illegal aliens taking to social media, instructing other foreigners how to come into this country and commandeer property.”
“Well, today in the state of Florida, we say very simply what passes muster in New York and California is not passing muster here. You are not going to be able to commandeer somebody’s private property and expect to get away with it. We are, in the state of Florida, ending the squatter scam once and for all,” he continued.
DeSantis said that the law provides “very swift remedies” for homeowners who have been victimized by squatters.
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“What the squatters know is even when they’re in the wrong, it’s a massive process many times before they can be evicted. And a lot of times, the process is very expensive,” he said. “And so we don’t want the law to have the thumb on the scale in favor of people that are violating the law. We want the law to have the thumb on the scale in favor of law abiding property owners. And that’s what you’re going to see here with this piece of legislation. What you can do now, if you’re the victim of squatting, you can simply fill out a form, give it to your local sheriff, and the sheriff is instructed to go and remove the people who are inhabiting your dwelling illegally. And that will happen very quickly.”
DeSantis said that he expects that the law will deter anyone from trying to take over homes in the state.
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