The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) is reminding property owners to take solace in the fact that the new “squatting” ordinance is scheduled to take effect on July 1.
The Florida government will no longer kowtow to criminals who break into homes and claim they have a right to live there. This will also cover deadbeat tenants who stop paying rent and think they are entitled to stay on the premises.
Try staying at the New York Hilton and not getting out. Why did the law support them but not a private homeowner?
According to a press release from JSO on Thursday, the legislative body enacted the new statute to finally defend the rights of homeowners regarding criminals who illegally occupy, or “squat,” in someone else’s home.
You can now request JSO to remove an occupant from your residential property if you are the owner or authorized agent and they are refusing to leave.
The following requirements, however, must be satisfied before law enforcement can act:
-The individual making the request is either the owner or their authorized representative of the property.
-A residence is included in the occupied real property.
-Someone or more people have broken into the owner’s property and are now residing there illegally.
-When the unapproved individual or individuals gained access to the property, it was not available to the general public.
-The owner of the property has given the individual permission to vacate the premises.
-Nobody who isn’t a current or past renter of the property has the owner’s permission to be there, either in writing or verbally.
-No member of the owner’s direct family is among the unapproved occupants.
The property owner has not been involved in any legal disputes with known unauthorized parties about the property.
After the law takes effect, you can contact the non-emergency number after filling out a form on JSO’s website. An officer will then reply and decide what to do next.
Any homeowner in need of assistance with eviction can submit a formal request to the sheriff’s office in their area.
A squatter is someone who occupies someone else’s property without permission and asserts a right to do so, making evicting them difficult from both a legal and practical standpoint.
