(NewsNation) — A Florida homeowner is asking for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to focus on the issue of affordable housing in the state as she faces a battle with squatters who broke into her home and have illegally lived there for over a month.
“What I want Governor DeSantis to do is to stop picking a fight over property rights with Disney and to focus on the property of real citizens that are having their houses broken into. Please treat the squatters in a criminal court system and address the underlying problem which is the lack of affordable housing,” Patti Peeples told NewsNation.
Peeples, a Jacksonville resident, said squatters posing as renters invaded her home and caused about $40,000 worth of damage, and it took her over a month to get them out.
“It took us 34 days to get them out. It cost us almost $6,000 in legal fees. More importantly, we lost a home sale. The home was up for being sold and we had an offer, and then the squatters broke in,” she said.
Police said their hands were pretty much tied because under Florida law, squatters are treated as a civil issue vs a criminal issue. However, Peeples said it’s not just a Florida issue.
“It goes on in every state around the Union, but a couple of states have made some progress on treating squatters like the criminals they are rather than in the civil court,” she said. “It’s essentially being treated like these are renters that have begun to fail on paying their rent to a legitimate landlord and a legitimate rental situation with a legitimate lease. None of this was legitimate. They had a fraudulent lease.”
Yet, the bigger issue is that the squatters were not arrested and they could act again.
“They posted a 24-hour to vacate order on the house, meaning that those squatters, the ones that broke and entered into my house, could simply slip out into the night they were not arrested,” Peeples said. “That’s the problem is that once the court system does deduce that they are not legitimate, that they broken in then they should be treated within the criminal court system.”
“Many of these squatters are taking over houses because they cannot afford housing of their own and who pays the price? Individual homeowners who are investing in their city,” she said. “DeSantis, this has got to stop; it’s an easy fix. They’re criminals.”
