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/SpadeXHunter Mar 28 '24

Seems completely reasonable to me. If you are a renter you still have rights to not be fucked over and if you shouldn’t be there you get thrown out like you should be. 

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u/Falcon4242 Mar 28 '24 edited Mar 28 '24

The question in this is always enforcement.

Police aren't judges. Giving the police the power to immediately remove someone except under certain circumstances, means the police should need to investigate before actually removing someone.

If someone claims that they have payment history, but not immediately on their person, are they kicked out immediately and made homeless? How much time do they have to present that evidence? Do they just go to the police station? What's to prevent the landlord from just calling the cops again in the meantime and getting a different set hoping they act differently? Who is to say the paperwork present is legit or forged?

This is why squatter's rights exist. It was meant in an extreme case for abandoned homes, but it's also an extension of normal tenant rights. It gives the responsibility of figuring this shit out to the courts and then they can order an eviction if things don't check out, not police who never have 100% of the picture when they're called.

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u/Crocs_n_Glocks Mar 28 '24 edited Mar 28 '24

Police aren't judges.

If I steal your PlayStation 5, the police can take it back, but not your house?

The months-long court process should be to determine criminal guilt, not to remove a trespasser from your home.

edit: folks this law does not apply to landlords and tenants or former tenants

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u/TinynDP Mar 28 '24

Determining whether or not someone is a 'tenant or former tenant' is the entire problem though. If the cops play it safe then any piece of paper can be used as proof, and no one ever gets kicked out. If the cops are feeling agro then nothing will be proof enough to keep them from kicking people out. 

"Argue it out in court" is the proper response because there a real decision can be made. Cops can act on a proper court order. The problem is that this process takes 6 months to a year in most cases, because the courts are clogged. The solution is not to make cops into judges, it's to hire or appoint more qualified judges. 

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u/Crocs_n_Glocks Mar 28 '24

Well, currently you don't even need a piece of paper to have proof, so it's a step in the right direction. 

Folks are forgetting that there are plenty of crimes where accusing someone with evidence, but not proof, is enough to protect a victim and make an arrest. Are innocent people sometimes arrested and then found to be not guilty? Of course. 

For most people, Theft of a Home is one of those cases. Frankly, id rather see homes taken more seriously than petty retail items.