03/22/2024
Finally bringing the rights back to a homeowner like they always should have been. There is no reason someone who breaks in and falsifies a lease can stay for months and months for free, cause massive damage, and have the financial burden on the homeowner.
This has passed both Fl house and senate and on its way to the governs desk!
House Bill 621 permits police to remove squatters without a lease authorized by the property owner and adds criminal penalties. Landlords, under the current law, typically have to wade through a long and expensive legal process to remove squatters.
"That [House Bill 621] gives police the ability to immediately evict squatters. That does not exist in most states, because they're treated as a civil matter," Peeples explained. "It also charges squatters with a misdemeanor for squatting or presenting a false lease. And furthermore, it's a felony for them to do $1,000 or more damage to the property."
Florida Democrat Patti Peeples would have been able to file misdemeanor and felony charges against her property's squatters had House Bill 621 been passed.
