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DeSantis, Florida sheriff crack down on ‘squatter scam’: ‘Straight into my jail’

March 30, 2024 | | Print Article

A Florida sheriff is optimistic about the new law Governor Ron DeSantis (R) signed on Wednesday ending the “squatter scam” in the Sunshine State.

The new law will “absolutely” help with the squatter situation, Martin County Sheriff William Snyder told “Fox & Friends” First on Thursday.

“There’s a real technicality when you go out to a home and somebody proffers that they live there, then the legitimate owner has proved that it’s their house,” he said. “It gives us teeth to enforce the law and to return the home to the rightful owner.”

(Video: Fox News)

As BizPac Review reported, DeSantis signed HB 621, a bill that streamlines the process of evicting people who are illegally living at a property.

“We are putting an end to the squatters scam in Florida,” DeSantis said. “While other states are siding with the squatters, we are protecting property owners and punishing criminals looking to game the system.”

According to its summary, the law will go into effect on July 1.

“If you are 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,” DeSantis said.

“Since many property owners reside in the Sunshine State exclusively during winter months, residents in Snyder’s community have been encouraged to be on the lookout for suspicious activity and alert law enforcement if anything seems out-of-the-ordinary,” according to Fox News Digital.

“We’ll go right out there, and it’s our intention here in Martin County to get that home back into the hands of the rightful owner and get the trespasser out,” Snyder said. “And then I will provide them [the squatter] housing.”

“They will not be unhoused,” the sheriff promised. “I’m putting them straight into my jail.”

A viral TikTok video showed a Venezuelan “influencer” instructing illegal migrants on how to use cities’ squatter laws to legally “invade” a home. The migrant poster has since been arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Ohio.

“My reaction to that is very simply this: People in Washington and Congress, the president, need to stop with the performance art,” Snyder stated. “We’re over your clickbait politics.”

“Give us some laws,” the sheriff urged lawmakers. “Give us some protection. Get somebody at that border. Stop this invasion.”

“I’m like a free safety in football,” he said. “You get past me, you are in my homeowner’s homes. And this is not tenable.”

DeSantis has a simple plan to handle the squatters in his state.

“What New York does, what California does, Florida will do the opposite,” he told Fox News’ Sean Hannity. “And so the squatter scam ends today with our legislation.”

Melissa Fine
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