JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A woman accused of squatting in a Jacksonville home more than a year ago agreed this summer to plead guilty and was sentenced to 30 days in jail, two years of probation, and 50 hours of community service. The court also ordered her to pay about $3,600 in restitution to the homeowner.
How did we get to this point? The story is quite wild.
More than a year ago, the I-TEAM exposed a loophole in the law that allowed the defendant and another woman to live rent-free in a home in the Hogan’s Creek neighborhood for weeks, while the property owner wasn’t allowed inside. The defendant had claimed she was a victim of a rental scam, which was the same thing she had claimed at a nearby property where she had been recently evicted. They were allowed to stay in the house rent-free for weeks as the case moved through the civil court system.
Related: New law now allows JSO to intervene in squatter situations. But only under certain conditions | Woman accused of squatting in Jacksonville home agrees to plead guilty, pay restitution to homeowner
After the investigation, the Florida state legislature unanimously passed a new state law that now allows law enforcement to immediately get involved in removing people living in a home without the owner’s permission. Under this law, officers may be called to help remove squatters if they unlawfully entered and remained on the property after the owner asked them to leave.
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Please note that News4JAX is not naming the defendant because the charges she’s facing are misdemeanors.
Now under the law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, police can remove people immediately from a property if they do not have a lease or refuse to leave.
RELATED: Florida lawmakers unanimously pass bill to combat squatting; giving property owners ‘positive hope’
Here are the conditions that have to be met before an officer can intervene:
- The requesting person is the property owner or authorized agent of the property owner.
- The real property that is being occupied includes a residential dwelling.
- An unauthorized person or persons have unlawfully entered and remain or continue to reside on the property owner’s property.
- The real property was not open to members of the public at the time the unauthorized person or persons entered.
- The property owner has directed the unauthorized person to leave the property.
- The unauthorized person or persons are not current or former tenants pursuant to a written or oral rental agreement authorized by the property owner.
- The unauthorized person or persons are not immediate family members of the property owner.
- There is no pending litigation related to the real property between the property owner and any known unauthorized person.
The property owner must also fill out an online form that will be available on JSO’s website.
Once the form is completed, the owner needs to call the sheriff’s office at 904-630-0500 and an officer will respond and review the required documents to determine the next steps.
To read more and hear the full story, press the play button on the video above.