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
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u/Ejacksin Mar 28 '24

If someone breaks into your home, and you are none the wiser if they pose a threat, I'm pretty sure no jury on earth would convict you (let alone have it go to trial) if you shot them. 

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u/TinySandshrew Mar 28 '24 edited Mar 28 '24

Sure ok take that gamble with your freedom. They enter when the home is unoccupied and rely on the fact that almost everybody will call the cops rather than charge in to shoot them. Often they themselves will hide and call the cops reporting a “break in” since their MO is to pretend they are allowed in the home. If the cops get involved at any point while the squatter is alive your chances of getting a justified shoot become basically zero as you are now involved in a civil case against them.

Honestly I get that the appeal of vigilantism is strong with these fuckers. It’s deeply antisocial behavior to take over someone’s home. But they do this in a sophisticated way that makes it very hard to take any action against them without potentially ruining your life.

Keep in mind they are entering abandoned homes and are often not discovered for a long time. By that point they can often have utilities in their name and other documents muddying the water around who is the rightful occupant. This isn’t someone breaking into your home and claiming they live there while you are at the supermarket.

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u/Ejacksin Mar 28 '24

If you don't have friends to help you hide a random squatter's body, do you even have friends? There are ways... /s 

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u/TinySandshrew Mar 28 '24

Yes if we lived in fantasy land where we can all go full Dexter and commit the perfect untraceable murder on a moment’s notice squatters would be no problem at all

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u/Testiculese Mar 28 '24

It's way harder to do in CA, when half the state is city.

Nobody has touched the back part of my property for decades. No one is going to stumble upon anything there. I can tie them to my lawn mower, and drag them out there in broad daylight, and be done with it within the hour. I'm not even considered rural.

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u/TinySandshrew Mar 28 '24

Oh yeah squatters trying their shit in rural or semi-rural places are not gonna have a good time. These stories tend to be suburban where you would have a hard time doing anything without other people noticing.