Florida Senate - 2024 SB 888
By Senator Perry
9-00993-24 2024888__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to property rights; creating s.
3 82.036, F.S.; providing legislative findings;
4 authorizing property owners or their authorized agents
5 to request assistance from law enforcement in
6 immediately removing unauthorized occupants from a
7 residential dwelling under certain conditions;
8 requiring such owners or agents to submit a completed
9 complaint form to the sheriff of the county in which
10 the property is located; specifying requirements for
11 the complaint form; requiring the sheriff to verify
12 the identity of the person submitting the complaint
13 form; requiring the sheriff to serve a notice to
14 immediately vacate on the unauthorized occupant;
15 authorizing a sheriff to arrest an unauthorized
16 occupant for legal cause; authorizing the sheriff to
17 collect the same fee as for service of a writ of
18 possession; authorizing the owner or agent to request
19 that the sheriff stand by while the owner or agent
20 takes possession of the property; authorizing the
21 sheriff to charge a reasonable hourly rate for a
22 certain purpose; providing civil remedies; providing
23 construction; providing an effective date.
24
25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
26
27 Section 1. Section 82.036, Florida Statutes, is created to
28 read:
29 82.036 Limited alternative remedy to remove unauthorized
30 persons from residential real property.—
31 (1) The Legislature finds that the right to exclude others
32 from entering, and the right to direct others to immediately
33 vacate, residential real property are the most important real
34 property rights. The Legislature further finds that existing
35 remedies regarding unauthorized persons who unlawfully remain on
36 residential real property fail to adequately protect the rights
37 of the property owner and fail to adequately discourage theft
38 and vandalism. The intent of this section is to quickly restore
39 possession of residential real property to the lawful owner of
40 the property when the property is being unlawfully occupied by a
41 trespasser or squatter, and to thereby preserve property rights
42 while limiting the opportunity for theft and vandalism.
43 (2) A property owner or his or her authorized agent may
44 request from the sheriff of the county in which the property is
45 located the immediate removal of a person or persons unlawfully
46 occupying a residential dwelling pursuant to this section if all
47 of the following are met:
48 (a) The person is the property owner or authorized agent of
49 the property owner;
50 (b) The real property that is being occupied includes a
51 residential dwelling;
52 (c) An unauthorized person or persons have unlawfully
53 entered and remain or continue to reside on the property owner’s
54 property;
55 (d) The real property was not open to members of the public
56 at the time the unauthorized person or persons entered;
57 (e) The unauthorized person or persons have been directed
58 to leave the real property but an unauthorized person or persons
59 remain on the property;
60 (f) The unauthorized person or persons are not current or
61 former tenants pursuant to a written or oral rental agreement
62 authorized by the property owner;
63 (g) The unauthorized person or persons are not immediate
64 family members of the property owner; and
65 (h) There is no other litigation related to the real
66 property which is pending between the property owner and any
67 known unauthorized person.
68 (3) To request the immediate removal of an unlawful
69 occupant of a residential dwelling, the property owner or his or
70 her authorized agent must submit a complaint by presenting a
71 completed, verified Complaint to Remove Persons Unlawfully
72 Occupying Residential Real Property to the sheriff of the county
73 in which the real property is located. The submitted complaint
74 must be in substantially the following form:
75
76 COMPLAINT TO REMOVE PERSONS UNLAWFULLY OCCUPYING RESIDENTIAL
77 REAL PROPERTY
78
79 I, the owner or authorized agent of the owner of the real
80 property located at ... ..., declare under the penalty of
81 perjury that (initial each box):
82 1. .... I am the owner of the real property or the
83 authorized agent of the owner of the real property.
84 2. .... The real property is a residential dwelling.
85 3. .... An unauthorized person or persons have entered and
86 are remaining or residing unlawfully on the real property.
87 4. .... The real property was not open to members of the
88 public at the time the unauthorized person or persons entered.
89 5. .... I have directed the unauthorized person or persons
90 to leave the real property, but they have not done so.
91 6. .... The person or persons are not current or former
92 tenants pursuant to a written or oral lease authorized by the
93 property owner, and any lease that may be produced by an
94 occupant is fraudulent.
95 7. .... The unauthorized person or persons sought to be
96 removed are not an owner or co-owner of the property and have
97 not been listed on the title to the property unless the person
98 or persons have engaged in title fraud.
99 8. .... The unauthorized person or persons are not
100 immediate family members of the property owner.
101 9. .... There is no litigation related to the real property
102 pending between the property owner and any person sought to be
103 removed.
104 10. .... I understand that a person or persons removed from
105 the property pursuant to this procedure may bring a cause of
106 action against me for any false statements made in this
107 complaint, or for wrongfully using this procedure, and that as a
108 result of such action I may be held liable for actual damages,
109 penalties, costs, and reasonable attorney fees.
110 11. .... I am requesting the sheriff to immediately remove
111 the unauthorized person or persons from the residential
112 property.
113 12. .... A copy of my valid government-issued
114 identification is attached, and if I am an agent of the property
115 owner, documents evidencing my authority to act on the property
116 owner’s behalf are attached.
117
118 I HAVE READ EVERY STATEMENT MADE IN THIS PETITION AND EACH
119 STATEMENT IS TRUE AND CORRECT. I UNDERSTAND THAT THE STATEMENTS
120 MADE IN THIS PETITION ARE BEING MADE UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY,
121 PUNISHABLE AS PROVIDED IN SECTION 837.02, FLORIDA STATUTES.
122
123 ...(Signature of Property Owner or Agent of Owner)...
124
125 (4) Upon receipt of the complaint, the sheriff shall verify
126 that the person submitting the complaint is the record owner of
127 the real property or the authorized agent of the owner and
128 appears otherwise entitled to relief under this section. If
129 verified, the sheriff shall, without delay, serve a notice to
130 immediately vacate on the unlawful occupants and shall put the
131 owner in possession of the real property. Service may be
132 accomplished by hand delivery of the notice to an occupant or by
133 posting the notice on the front door or entrance of the
134 dwelling. The sheriff shall also attempt to verify the
135 identities of all persons occupying the dwelling and note the
136 identities on the return of service. If appropriate, the sheriff
137 may arrest any person found in the dwelling for trespass,
138 outstanding warrants, or any other legal cause.
139 (5) The sheriff is entitled to the same fee for service of
140 the notice to immediately vacate as if the sheriff were serving
141 a writ of possession under s. 30.231. After the sheriff serves
142 the notice to immediately vacate, the property owner or
143 authorized agent may request that the sheriff stand by to keep
144 the peace while the property owner or agent of the owner changes
145 the locks and removes the personal property of the unlawful
146 occupants from the premises to or near the property line. When
147 such a request is made, the sheriff may charge a reasonable
148 hourly rate, and the person requesting the sheriff to stand by
149 to keep the peace shall be responsible for paying the reasonable
150 hourly rate set by the sheriff. The sheriff is not liable to the
151 unlawful occupant or any other party for loss, destruction, or
152 damage. The property owner or his or her authorized agent is not
153 liable to an unlawful occupant or any other party for the loss,
154 destruction, or damage to the personal property unless the
155 removal was wrongful.
156 (6) A person may bring a civil cause of action for wrongful
157 removal under this section. A person harmed by a wrongful
158 removal under this section may be restored to possession of the
159 real property and may recover actual costs and damages incurred,
160 statutory damages equal to triple the fair market rent of the
161 dwelling, court costs, and reasonable attorney fees. The court
162 shall advance the cause on the calendar.
163 (7) This section does not limit the rights of a property
164 owner or limit the authority of a law enforcement officer to
165 arrest an unlawful occupant for trespassing, vandalism, theft,
166 or other crimes.
167 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.