Posted on 04/17/2024 12:17:05 PM PDT by nickcarraway
If you are planning a lengthy holiday getaway don’t leave your home unattended: beware the squatters. In some towns in the U.S. if homeowners take a lengthy vacation and squatters move into their home in the interim the intruders may wind up calling it their own “home sweet home.” And “yes,” it’s legal.
The issue of squatter rights is not something new; squatters have been around since the first European settlers arrived in America. What is new is the emergence of squatters in growing numbers as a result of the Biden administration’s open borders policy. Texas Senator John Cornyn tells us that “since President Biden took office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has logged more than 5.4 million illegal border crossings, plus at least 1.5 million ‘gotaways’ – that is, border crossers who were detected by CBP technology, but who were never apprehended.” In that same period of time, squatting has become a nationwide issue that is on the rise, thanks to folks like illegal migrant Leonel Moreno who hails from Venezuela and who is encouraging fellow illegals to move into unoccupied homes.
Moreno has an audience in excess of half a million followers and is urging them to move into unoccupied homes, telling them that “if a house is not inhabited, seize it.” A recent Newsmax feature National Police Association spokeswoman Betsy Brantner Smith noted that “thanks to social media, [she] worries that the squatting trend will become more formalized. This is extremely concerning because as migrants become aware that this isn’t just a big city issue, they will go to suburbs and rural areas and find part-time occupied properties.” She said it wouldn’t be a surprise if people visiting their hunting cabins, lake homes, or motor homes this spring and summer encounter squatters who took up residence during the winter months.”
There don’t seem to be existing laws that provide homeowners blanket protections. But it is not too little, too late to enact new laws to protect property owners. In fact, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently signed a bill that protects property rights and provides penalties for squatters. “We are putting an end to the squatters’ scam in Florida. While other states are siding with the squatters, we are protecting property owners and punishing criminals looking to game the system. If you’re the victim of squatting, you can simply fill out a form, give it to your local sheriff and the sheriff is instructed to go and remove the people who are inhabiting your dwelling illegally. And that will happen very quickly.”
DeSantis’ Attorney General Ashley Moody noted that “Biden has allowed millions of illegal immigrants to flood across the border. After video evidence of their plan to take over homes emerged, we’re ensuring Floridians are protected from this egregious and brazen scheme. I’m grateful to Governor DeSantis for signing this important legislation into law, and to Representative Kevin Steele for carrying this bill through Session.”
When a reporter asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre to comment on the Florida law, she seemed to dismiss it. She called it “hypothetical” and said, “this is a local issue.”
Government supported redistribution of wealth.
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any more ridiculous!
If you travel, don’t make it look like you’re gone. Make sure there is a car in the driveway, and cancel the paper and stop the mail
Not in Florida anymore.
The Dims made it clear that they wish to destroy the suburbs. Now they’re implementing it.
We won’t know until we see how this plays out in courts.
A lot of people in the suburbs voted for this.
“The Dims made it clear that they wish to destroy the suburbs. Now they’re implementing it.”
But Trump is so BRASH, there’s just NO WAY I could vote for him.
(we actually people like that here at FR)
A lot of people in the suburbs are willing to sit on their own hands and let the takeover happen.
Canceling the paper and stopping the mail tells people at the newspaper and post office you aren’t there, and they can tell others.
Better to have a trusted neighbor or hire a neighbor kid.
Dims think no American should have a nice suburban life if all (even the rabble) cannot have a nice suburban life.
“In some towns in the U.S. if homeowners take a lengthy vacation and squatters move into their home in the interim the intruders may wind up calling it their own “home sweet home.” And “yes,” it’s legal.”
No it is not. It is trespassing. The owner has not relinquished any of her rights. The trespassers can not gain legal title to the property. It is fraud. It is a scam taking advantage of landlord-tenant laws that make evicting even unauthorized tenants an expensive and lengthy process.
Adverse possession laws are not a simple matter of move in and claim the property is now yours. For one thing if squatters claim they have legal standing or permission of the owner it is no longer a case of adverse possession. If they are not paying taxes and maintaining the property; they no longer have met another condition of adverse possession. Same applies if they are not openly and notoriously occupying the property. Has the owner accessed the property within the allotted time frame? We’re talking years usually over a decade.
Someone should follow the money and find out who is funding this massive squatter’s movement. You can bet it is not just chump change. Claiming property is just one part of the goal. I think the main goal is destabilizing certain areas to force people out so property can be bought up on the cheap.
Why do the courts recognize them as “tenants” when all they’ve done is move in?
Officer, I swear I was afraid for my and my family’s lives when we walked in our home and found a bunch of people rushing us.
Trespassing is as trespassing does. Some folks have a backhoe for a reason.
As I wrote the definition of tenant can be very broad. In most cases a landlord-tenant relationship is assumed provided the person claims he is allowed to be there. Unfortunately law enforcement is not authorized to settle a he said-she said situation and decide who is telling the truth. That is why the court gets involved. A written lease is not required for a person to claim they are a tenant.
My first action on buying property is to have it surveyed and to build a new fence ON THE LINE if it is not already. People around here have had the bad habit in the past of putting fences "close enough" since the days of Indian Territory and they just stayed that way after statehood.
The squatter crap isn't just for houses. A fellow down the road was moved in on by a bunch from Texas in a travel trailer. The sheriff told him to leave them alone and that he would arrest the guy if he bothered them. They were eventually removed but it went way to far for my liking. If I own property, and that is easily and quickly determined at the court house or even online, I can to anything I want to with it.
Do they simply gain these rights against a land owner because they assert they have a rental or other arrangement and that has to be disproved?
I have also experienced the pain of getting rid of a lousy tenant. Once was enough for me. I don't have that house anymore, burned it just like I will the last hovel I acquired with property. Some things are just not worth the trouble, the taxes or the insurance.
We need some frontier justice and a backhoe as far as I am concerned.
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any more ridiculous!
they dont, but it takes MONTHS for it to get to court, this is the scam
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