It seems that every time you turn on the news these days there’s a story about a squatter who won’t vacate the premises. Some of the stories are simply outrageous, which leaves many people wondering why the government doesn’t step in. It turns out that the U.S. government doesn’t act forcefully on squatting because it’s considered a civil matter, rather than criminal, which means police are hesitant to intervene. Some states, like Florida and Georgia, are passing new laws to allow quicker removal, tackling the issue of squatters as a state issue while the federal debates continue. The issue stems from property rights complexities, slow courts, and debates over housing access, making it a political “low-hanging fruit” rather than a simple fix. The most outrageous part of the squatters issue is that if squatters live in the property long enough — typically 5 to 30 years — they can claim legal ownership of it. That seems to be where the government needs to begin their focus.
