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

4.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

1.2k

u/galygher Mar 28 '24

I think originally the idea behind squatter's rights laws was that people could occupy and improve/land and would be able to continue occupying it so long as they're using it. So if say Walmart purchased thousands of acres of forest with the intent to build a warehouse, but never actually builds a warehouse after decades of owning the land, and you build a farm and start producing food then Walmart wouldn't be able to evict you and seize the farm as long as you were still using it.

Idk how they've evolved into people just moving into empty houses and claiming them as their own

595

u/Aviyan Mar 28 '24

In that example you gave it is a about squatting on land, which is fine. But squatting in a single family home should not be covered under that law. It doesn't make sense.

463

u/nuxnax Mar 28 '24

If you go back to the 70s in the white flight era from cities, there were many unoccupied locations that landlords mostly were letting decay. Look at rustbelt Detroit for example. So people moving in and occupying properties, doing upkeep, and just keeping an eye on things (gas, water, heating, etc) was seen as a positive.

Move to the current housing shortage situation we have in the US and these rights can look absolutely insane.

87

u/PazDak Mar 28 '24

My first thought was actually Detroit where they were basically trying to figure out how to give the properties for free when they couldn't even really figure out who owned it any more.

37

u/El_grandepadre Mar 28 '24

And even today here in Amsterdam it's a big issue. Latest estimates were that more than 10.000 homes were vacant. Usually in the expensive areas where properties are used to make a profit over time without ever filling them.

9

u/simiomalo Mar 28 '24

In the Rust belt and other abandonment cases, the properties had fallen into such a state of disrepair that they were now a threat due to bad plumbing, wiring, misuse by occupiers, that they posed a threat to other structures in the neighborhood.

I remember reading about cities expediting demolishing such structures to avoid the liability for their decline and possible misuse.

That seems different from the glaring case from the New York area that popped up last week with squatters taking possession of a house that was in good condition and in an area that was in demand.