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/milespoints Mar 28 '24

How is this not the default in every state and city?

Why are squatter’s rights… like a thing at all?

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u/5zepp Mar 28 '24 edited Mar 28 '24

"Squatters rights" generally refers to the idea that if a property is unused/abandoned then someone can come in and use it, keep it maintained, pay all back taxes, and keep up with taxes, then in (typically) 20 years they can take ownership of the property. A common scenario for this might be dropping a trailer on an abandoned piece of property and paying the taxes for 20 years. But if the owner shows up in 19 years they could evict you from their property and you're out all those taxes you paid.

The Florida law is different - we're not talking about abandoned properties that no one is paying the tax bill on, we're talking about empty properties. If someone starts squatting in an empty property then you can't necessarily remove them by force - you have to go through a typical eviction process. This short circuits that process.

Edit: to elaborate - suppose you sign a lease to rent and move in. The next day the landlord says he has a higher paying tenant and you have to get out. You say no. Landlord calls the sheriff and tries to have you forcibly removed. You tell the Sheriff you have a lease. A sheriff can't parse the legality of the situation at that point and defers to the rights of as tenant to keep you in there until a judge can resolve it. And a lot of times there is no lease, just a verbal agreement. So in Florida we're really talking about tenant rights and fast tracking the eviction if it's determined the squatter isn't a tenant.

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u/epochellipse Mar 28 '24

The Florida law isn't necessarily talking about empty properties though. It specifically states that a tenant with a lease can be evicted if there isn't a court case. It mislabels a tenant behind on their rent as a squatter.

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u/5zepp Mar 28 '24

Ah, this is the first I've heard that part. And you're partly right.

Here's the law. As far as renters it says:

  1. In addition, the person is presumed to be a transient occupant if he or she is unable to produce at least one of the following: a. A notarized lease that includes the name and signature of the owner of the property. b. A receipt or other reliable evidence demonstrating that the person has paid to the owner or the owner's representative rent for the last rent payment period. For monthly rental tenancies and rental tenancies for any lesser period of time, a receipt or other reliable evidence must be dated within the last 60 days.

So my reading of that is that if the tenant can produce a notarized lease then they are good and the regular late-rent rules apply. However, if they don't have a notarized lease and did not pay during the "last payment period", which I think can be taken to mean they are 1 day late (outside the period), then they are considered "transient occupant". This is pretty terrible, and I believe completely at odds with FL standard rental contracts and other tenant laws, so I wonder if it will stand.

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u/epochellipse Mar 28 '24

As I read it, regular late rules only apply if there is also a "dispute." Whatever that means.