20 sats \ 15 replies \ @Undisciplined OP 28 Mar \ parent \ on: Squatters Rights? libertarian
It's good they're taking action, but this problematic clause is still in the bill
My understanding of the issue is that people are falsely claiming to be tenants, so they need to adjudicate that somehow.
Yes, I'm actually confused by the FL bill as it doesn't seem to actually solve the problem in any meaningful way (Trespassing is already illegal - you can already call cops to deal with trespassers).
The problem is when cops arrive and squatters produces a official looking doc showing that they are a tenant. Its not the job of street cops to validate / adjudicate such issues - thus it will fall to the courts (e.g. expect a few months delay).
I think Desantis is just posturing for political points by pushing a bill that doesn't really do anything new but restate what is already existing law.
reply
How does one prove he is a legitimate tenant?
Copy of a lease is one way
Driver license showing current address
Recent utilities and gas bill
Renters insurance policy
DMV registration
Run a background check on tenant or squatter
Why is this complicated?
reply
Why is this complicated?Driver license showing current address
There is no law that states you need to have a drivers license to rent a house
For everything else, imagine photoshops of said docs.
Again street cops have neither the power nor the ability to authenticate such things.....without some sort of failproof way to authenticate valid contracts this will continue to exist.
reply
License plate verification if squatter has a car
reply
The DMV doesn't actually verify your address, so you could easily say you live in the house you're squatting in.
reply
Police can check if a license plate is valid or active or car is stolen, delinquent on traffic tickets etc
reply
reply
It has nothing to do with rental agreement
But running plates can yield useful information about the credibility of tenant or squatter
reply
Why would that tell them anything about whether the person is a tenant or not?
reply
It would not verify tenancy
It would only check the status of a vehicle.
reply
Squatters are making fake lease agreements and you can switch utilities to your name without actually living somewhere. You can also put down someone else's address when you set up billing for all kinds of services.
reply
You can check court records if there is pending litigation
reply
reply
A renter can verify keys 🔐
Landlord and tenant have matching keys.
A squatter will have different keys or no keys.
reply
There would be no way to verify that the landlord is showing the right keys, though.
reply