The Florida Legislature has unanimously passed a bill that would allow law enforcement officers to quickly evict squatters from properties.
The legislation, which passed both chambers in Florida earlier this month, would allow police to remove squatters from a property if they fail to produce a lease authorized by the owner. The bill would also allow police to add criminal penalties, including designating intentional presentation of a fraudulent lease as a misdemeanor and making it a felony to intentionally sell or lease someone else's property or intentionally causing more than $1,000 in property damage while squatting.
That being said, the bill would also allow a person wrongfully evicted from a property to sue and be placed back inside. If they win, they could also recover attorneys' fees and damages.
The bill is a departure from the current law, which requires landlords to go through an expensive and lengthy court process to evict squatters from their properties.
Squatting in Florida
The passing of the bill comes after Jacksonville resident Patti Peeples made national headlines last year when two female squatters moved into her property and caused nearly $40,000 in damages.
Peeples, however, could not evict the squatters after they produced a forged lease from a fraudulent landlord and claimed they had the right to stay at the Jacksonville home. The squatters also claimed they had paid rent and a security deposit on the house.
Peeples took the situation to court and successfully evicted the squatters over a month later. However, a check of her property had smashed walls and windows, cabinets were removed from the walls, and fecal matter was all over the home.
"These squatters know the laws better than most attorneys do, and they use them to their advantage and the police are absolutely hamstrung," Peeple said.
"They know that this is a civil matter. The police have absolutely no right to remove these squatters and treat them as criminals, as individuals that have broken in or trespassed, and they simply throw up their hands and say, 'You need to go through this civil court system and evict them,'" she added.
Peeples said she discovered squatters were living in her home after she sent a handyman to make repairs ahead of a home inspection for selling the property. Peeples spent $5,000 in legal fees.
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