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‘Squatter Hunter’ discusses the ongoing squatting issue in America and proposes law changes
Flash Shelton, founder of Squatter Hunters in California, shared with Fox News Digital his solution for helping to solve the issue.
New York’s 2024 state budget signed into law in April included a clear definition of a “squatter,” but a New York City attorney believes more can be done to protect homeowners and landlords.
Several states across the country have passed laws to prevent squatting. One was Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation in March 2024 that went into effect July 1.
“You are not going to be able to commandeer somebody’s private property and expect to get away with it. We are in the state of Florida ending the squatter scam once and for all,” DeSantis said during a press conference.
In many squatter situations throughout the country, police have little room to interfere, and the cases are sent to court to be resolved. (iStock)
ADVICE FROM PROFESSIONALS ON PROTECTING YOUR HOME AGAINST SQUATTERS
In part, the law made it easier for law enforcement to intervene in squatter disputes in the state of Florida.
The law “will give the homeowner the ability to quickly and legally remove a squatter from a property, which will increase criminal penalties for squatting. Now, we have not had the same type of issues here, as you’ve seen in California or New York. Nevertheless, our laws were really geared towards this not necessarily being a fad,” DeSantis added.
True stories from those affected by squatters helped the law get passed in the Sunshine State. A woman named Patti Peeples, who had squatters in her home for 36 days, was asked to provide testimony before Florida Senate and House committees when the bill was still under consideration.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation in March 2024 to help protect homeowners against squatters. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
MENTAL, PHYSICAL AILMENTS CAN DEVELOP AMONG HOMEOWNERS OVERTAKEN BY SQUATTERS, ACCORDING TO EXPERT
“I’m amazed, surprised and really, really encouraged that this particular case of mine showed me and I hope shows others that our legislatures can listen to everyday citizens and sometimes actually seek to efficiently make new laws to address common everyday problems,” Peeples previously told Fox News Digital.
After many squatter stories emerged from New York, particularly New York City, lawmakers defined a squatter in the 2024 state budget signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul in April in an attempt to make it easier for police to intervene.
The language defines a squatter as “a person who enters or intrudes upon real property without the permission of the person entitled to possession, and continues to occupy the property without title, right or permission of the owner or owner’s agent or a person entitled to possession,” according to the New York Senate’s website.
New York lawmakers defined what a “squatter” is as part of the 2024 state budget to distinguish between unlawful residents and legal renters. (iStock)
‘PROFESSIONAL’ SQUATTERS MOVE HOUSE TO HOUSE, RETAIN STATE-BY-STATE KNOWLEDGE ON THE LAW
This law came out at the same time as the Good Cause Eviction Law.
That law states “that fair market tenants who are not regulated, such as rent-stabilized and rent-control tenants, but free market tenants, cannot be removed from possession of an apartment unless the landlord can establish either that they are exempt from the law or that they have what’s called good cause, which is defined in the law to remove the tenant from possession,” said Daniel Phillips.
Phillips is a real estate litigation partner at Belkin, Burden and Goldman who specializes in landlord-tenant disputes.
Phillips told Fox News Digital defining a squatter “didn’t change anything with laws pertaining to squatters at all.”
“All it did was give a definition of what a squatter is, basically saying that they’re not tenants, which already existed,” Phillips added.
Phillips spoke about ways he believes New York could help protect homeowners against squatters, including a clear description of what can be done if a homeowner or landlord has a squatter living on a property, such as removal by the police or utilizing self-help methods, like changing locks or turning off utilities.
An NYC real estate litigation partner shared with Fox News Digital that having a courtroom designated for squatter cases could assist landlords in the legal process, helping proceedings to move more quickly. (iStock)
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“Even creating a special courtroom designated for these types of cases with an accelerated court date so that landlords can go through the judicial process faster,” Phillips suggested. “The law didn’t do any of that.”
Ashlyn Messier is a writer for Fox News Digital.