New Florida Squatter Law: Sheriff Removal and Criminal Penalties

Florida’s squatter law, in effect since July 1, 2024, lets a residential property owner remove unauthorized occupants by filing a sworn complaint with the county sheriff instead of filing an eviction lawsuit. The process lives in Section 82.036 of the Florida Statutes and skips the courts entirely, but it only works in a narrow set of circumstances and carries real financial risk if you use it against the wrong person.¹²

When You Can Use the Sheriff Process

Section 82.036 lists eight conditions that must all be true before the sheriff will act on your complaint:²

The property is a residential dwelling, not commercial space or vacant land.
The occupant entered without permission and is still there.
The property was not open to the public when the occupant entered.
You already told the occupant to leave and they refused.
The occupant is not a current or former tenant under any written or oral rental agreement you authorized.
The occupant is not listed on the title, unless they got there through title fraud.
The occupant is not an immediate family member of the owner.
No lawsuit is pending between you and the occupant over the property.

Two of these catch owners off guard. If the person is an immediate family member, even an adult child or sibling refusing to leave, this process is unavailable and you have to use the regular eviction system. The same is true if any rental relationship ever existed, including a casual verbal arrangement where the person once paid rent or lived there with your permission. In those situations the traditional eviction route is the only legal path, even though it is slower.

How to File the Complaint

The complaint has a statutory name and a fixed format: the “Complaint to Remove Persons Unlawfully Occupying Residential Real Property.” Most county sheriff’s offices post the form online. You complete it by initialing 13 separate declarations, each made under penalty of perjury, confirming every eligibility condition listed above.³

Built into the form is a written acknowledgment that anyone wrongfully removed through this process can sue you for damages. You sign that acknowledgment as part of filing, so there is no way to claim later that you were unaware of the risk. You also attach a copy of your valid government-issued photo ID. If you are filing as an agent rather than the record owner, you need documentation of your authority to act on the owner’s behalf.

File the completed complaint with the sheriff of the county where the property sits. Some counties charge a processing fee. Alachua County, for instance, charges $90.⁴ Fees vary, so check with your local sheriff’s office before you file.

What the Sheriff Does Next

Once the sheriff has your complaint, the office verifies that you are the record owner or authorized agent and that the paperwork satisfies the statute. If it does, the sheriff serves a notice to vacate on the unauthorized occupants and puts you back in possession of the property without delay.² No judge signs off and no writ of possession issues. That is what makes this dramatically faster than a county court eviction.

The sheriff may enter the property using reasonably necessary force, search it, and remove any unauthorized occupants inside. Secure the home right away once they are out. Change the locks and board or repair any compromised entry points the same day. Waiting even a day leaves an opening for the same people to come back.

The statute shields both the sheriff and the property owner from liability for loss or damage to the occupant’s personal property left behind, unless the owner wrongfully removed the property.⁵ Even so, the safe practice is to photograph anything left behind and store it in a secure area rather than throw it out. If the occupant later claims you destroyed their belongings, your documentation is what protects you.

What It Costs if You Get It Wrong

The speed of this process is matched by the exposure for an owner who uses it against the wrong person. Section 82.036(6) gives anyone wrongfully removed a civil cause of action for restoration to the property, actual damages, court costs, reasonable attorney fees, and statutory damages equal to triple the fair market rent of the dwelling. Courts are required to put these cases on an expedited calendar.²

Triple rent adds up fast. A wrongful removal from a home that rents for $2,000 a month exposes the owner to $6,000 in statutory damages alone, before actual damages, attorney fees, and costs. Because every declaration on the complaint is sworn under penalty of perjury, a false statement can also lead to criminal perjury charges under Section 92.525. If there is any chance the occupant once had your permission, or that a verbal rental ever existed, the slower traditional eviction is the safer route.

Criminal Penalties the Law Created

HB 621 also strengthened the criminal side of squatting. These are charges to raise with law enforcement when you report the situation.

Trespass in a Dwelling

Entering and remaining in an occupied structure without permission is a first-degree misdemeanor under Florida’s existing trespass statute, punishable by up to one year in county jail and a $1,000 fine. If the trespasser is armed with a firearm or dangerous weapon, the charge becomes a third-degree felony.⁶⁷

Squatting With Property Damage

The 2024 law added a specific criminal mischief offense under Section 806.13 for squatters who damage the home they occupy. If someone unlawfully occupies a residential dwelling and intentionally causes more than $1,000 in damage, the offense is a second-degree felony carrying up to 15 years in state prison and a $10,000 fine.⁸⁹ Once you count broken locks, damaged walls, destroyed appliances, and any contamination that needs professional cleanup, most meaningful squatting situations clear that threshold.

Fake Leases and Fraudulent Listings

Presenting a fake lease, forged deed, or other fabricated document to justify staying on someone else’s property is a first-degree misdemeanor under Section 817.03, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.¹⁰⁷ The law is harsher on a related scheme. Under Section 817.0311, listing property for sale while knowing the seller has no title, or renting or leasing property while knowing you have no ownership or leasehold interest, is a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.¹¹⁹ That provision targets the scams where someone collects deposits on a property they don’t own.

Why Acting Fast Matters: Adverse Possession

Part of the reason Florida tightened its squatter rules is the long-standing doctrine of adverse possession. Under Section 95.18, a person who occupies someone else’s real property for seven continuous years can file an adverse possession claim if they also:¹²

Paid all outstanding property taxes within one year of taking possession and kept paying.
Filed a formal adverse possession return with the county property appraiser within 30 days of that initial tax payment, on the standardized Department of Revenue form.
Held uninterrupted possession for the full seven years by substantially enclosing the property or cultivating, maintaining, or improving it in the usual way.
Possessed the property exclusively and excluded the legal owner.

Florida’s tax-payment and filing requirements are stricter than those in many other states, so a squatter who just lives in your home without paying taxes or filing paperwork cannot claim ownership. Even so, the seven-year clock starts the moment someone takes possession. The sooner you act, the less room there is for later legal arguments about possession and improvements.

1
Florida Senate. CS/CS/HB 621 Property Rights
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Florida Senate. Florida Code 82.036 – Limited Alternative Remedy to Remove Unauthorized Persons From Residential Real Property
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Florida Senate. Florida Code 82.036 – Limited Alternative Remedy to Remove Unauthorized Persons From Residential Real Property
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Alachua County Sheriff’s Office. FSS 82.036 – Property Rights
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Florida Senate. CS/CS/HB 621 Property Rights – Bill Summary
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Florida Senate. Florida Code 810.08 – Trespass in Structure or Conveyance
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Florida Senate. Florida Code 775.082 – Penalties, Applicability of Sentencing Structures, Notification Requirements
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Florida Senate. CS/CS/HB 621 Property Rights – Bill Analysis
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The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 775.083 – Fines
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The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 817.03 – Making False Statement to Obtain Property or Credit or to Detain Real Property
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Florida Senate. Florida Code 817.0311 – Fraudulent Sale or Lease of Real Property
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The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 95.18 – Real Property Actions, Adverse Possession Without Color of Title