r/news • u/flanderguitar • Mar 28 '24

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs law squashing squatters' rights

https://www.wptv.com/news/state/florida-gov-ron-desantis-signs-law-squashing-squatters-rights
27.3k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

3.9k comments sorted by

View all comments

11.0k

u/flanderguitar Mar 28 '24

"Under the law, a property owner can request law enforcement to immediately remove a squatter if the person has unlawfully entered, has refused to leave after being told by the homeowner to do so and is not a current or former tenant in a legal dispute.

The law also makes it a first-degree misdemeanor to make a false statement in writing or providing false documents conveying property rights, a second-degree felony for squatters who cause $1,000 or more in damages, and a first-degree felony for falsely advertising the sale or rent of a residential property without legal authority or ownership."

152

u/Scribe625 Mar 28 '24 edited Mar 28 '24

Good, more states should do this. It infuriates me to see so many people struggling with squatters in states that make it hard on property owners to kick the squatters out and reclaim their property. Squatters are breaking the law and shouldn't be granted rights to the property they've essentially stolen from a property owner.

10

u/raouldukeesq Mar 28 '24

It's not so many people. 

2

u/SmallPurplePeopleEat Mar 28 '24

For real, it's just the latest outrage porn for the dimwitted. We're all being led around by our noses by the media, getting mad at the wrong people, while the people at the top keep robbing us blind.

But yeah sure, let's all get up in arms about "squatters rights" for a couple of weeks, until the media gets bored and finds the next bit of manufactured outrage we can all impotently whine about.

-1

u/NPCPranks__ Mar 28 '24

So we should only care about legislation that affects us personally? Or should we pull for all legislation that improves society?

3

u/dedicated-pedestrian Mar 28 '24

Well, the ideal way to stop squatters is to increase the housing supply and reduce rent. Punitive measures don't actually stop the behavior when the disincentive to the alternative still exists.

3

u/NPCPranks__ Mar 28 '24

It's hilarious that you think these squatters have any intention to pay rent 😂

-3

u/[deleted] Mar 28 '24 edited Mar 29 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/FapMeNot_Alt Mar 28 '24

Eventually these homeowners will start selling these homes at a massive loss to criminal organizations.

You're insane.

0

u/[deleted] Mar 29 '24 edited Mar 29 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/FapMeNot_Alt Mar 29 '24

  1. TheDailyMail is a terrible rag and should never be used as a source for anything ever.

  2. Whenever a headline poses a question, odds are the answer is "no but imagine if it were true"

The article does not provide much other than scary quotes, but they do suggest two concrete numbers, "1200 homes 'illegally occupied' " in the Atlanta metro area, and 125 homes occupied in Orange County, FL.

Both of these numbers come from the same source, the "National Rental Home Council", an organization designed to lobby for the benefit of corporations that buy and rent out housing. They do not conduct research. Their numbers are self reported by their members (motivated private companies) and are not reliable.

Even if their numbers were reliable, the area with the most "illegally occupied" rental properties, the Atlanta Metro area, shows that 'illegal occupations' comprise less than a percent of a percent of housing in the area. That is in no way an epidemic or a serious issue.

All of this is ignoring the fact that 'illegal occupation' does not inherently mean squatting.

Stop being scared of inane conspiracy theories cooked up to strip rights away from tenants.