Squatters Rights In Florida: What HB 621 Changed

Someone is living in your property who has no right to be there, and you were told you’d have to go through a months-long eviction.

That changed in 2024. Florida’s HB 621 created a fast administrative path that bypasses the court eviction process entirely for genuine unauthorized occupants.

Here’s how it works, and - importantly - when it doesn’t apply.

The fast path: sheriff removal under HB 621

If someone is occupying your residential property without ever having had a lease or your permission, you can file a verified complaint with the county sheriff rather than filing an eviction lawsuit.

Once the sheriff verifies your right to possession, they can remove the occupant, often within 24 to 48 hours.

To use it, you generally must attest that:

• You own the property or are the authorized agent
• The property was not open to the public at the time the person entered
• You have directed the person to leave and they haven’t
• The person is not a current or former tenant in a legal dispute with you
• The person is not an immediate family member of the owner
• There is no pending litigation between you and the occupant related to the property

You’ll need proof of ownership - a recorded deed, a tax bill - and identification.

This is a genuine change. Before HB 621, Florida owners routinely spent three to six months and thousands of dollars removing people who had simply broken in and stayed.

When HB 621 does NOT apply

This is where people get tripped up, and getting it wrong wastes weeks.

A former tenant is not a squatter. If the person once had a lease - even an expired one, even an oral one, even if they’ve paid nothing in eight months - they are a holdover tenant and you must use the normal eviction process under Fla. Stat. Chapter 83. See selling a rental property with tenants.

Someone you let stay is not a squatter. A friend, a relative, a partner, a roommate who never signed a lease - if you gave them permission at any point, courts generally treat them as a tenant at will, and removal goes through eviction.

Family members are excluded from the HB 621 process by statute.

If there’s a dispute over who owns the property, the sheriff won’t resolve it. That’s a court matter.

Call your county sheriff’s civil division before filing. In Central Florida - Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Lake, Polk, Volusia - each has a civil process unit that will tell you which path applies to your facts. That call takes ten minutes and can save you two months.

Never do this yourself

Whatever the situation, do not change the locks, shut off utilities, remove doors or windows, or throw belongings out.

That’s a self-help eviction, and it’s illegal in Florida even against someone with no right to be there. Under Fla. Stat. §83.67, a tenant can recover actual and consequential damages or three months’ rent, whichever is greater, plus attorney fees.

Frustrated owners do this constantly and it converts a nuisance into a lawsuit they lose.

Adverse possession - the thing “squatters rights” usually refers to

The phrase “squatters rights” typically means adverse possession - the idea that someone occupying property long enough eventually owns it.

In Florida this is far harder than internet myth suggests. Under Fla. Stat. Chapter 95, adverse possession requires seven years of possession that is continuous, open and notorious, hostile, exclusive, and actual - and either:

• Under color of title (a defective deed they believed was valid), or
• Without color of title, in which case they must have filed a return with the county property appraiser within one year of taking possession and paid all taxes on the property for the entire seven years

That tax requirement kills nearly every claim. Someone who breaks into your house and lives there for a decade without paying taxes gains nothing.

Practically: adverse possession is not a real threat to an owner who pays their taxes. If you’re getting and paying tax bills, your title is safe.

The vacant property problem

Squatting happens to vacant properties - inherited houses in probate, out-of-state-owned rentals between tenants, homes vacant during a foreclosure.

Prevention beats removal every time:

• Secure it. Solid locks, boarded or secured windows, a working alarm
• Make it look occupied. Timed lights, mowed lawn, mail collected. An overgrown yard with flyers on the door is an advertisement.
• Check on it, or pay someone to. Monthly minimum. A neighbor with your number is worth a lot.
• Tell the sheriff’s office if it’ll be vacant long-term. Many Central Florida agencies offer vacant property checks free.
• Fix the insurance. Most policies limit or void coverage after 30–60 days of vacancy - and many exclude vandalism and theft on vacant property specifically. Get a vacancy endorsement or vacant-property policy.
• Don’t leave utilities on in a way that makes it habitable, but do keep enough power for security and to prevent mold.

Selling a property with someone living in it

You can sell it. Two approaches:

Remove them first, then sell. Widest buyer pool, best price. Use the sheriff process if HB 621 applies - that’s days, not months. Use eviction if they’re a former tenant.

Sell occupied to an investor. Retail buyers won’t touch an occupied property, and no lender will finance one. Cash buyers will - they take on the removal themselves.

You pay for that in price. But if the occupant is destroying the property, or you’re out of state and can’t manage a removal, “less money next week” often beats “more money in four months, minus the damage they do in the meantime.”

When to sell as-is with the occupant in place

Do it when: you’re out of state, the person is causing damage faster than the process moves, you’ve already spent money on a removal that stalled, or the property is a small part of an estate the heirs just want closed.

Don’t when: HB 621 clearly applies and a sheriff removal is a few days out. Do that first, then sell vacant. The price difference is substantial and the wait is short.

What you must disclose

Under Johnson v. Davis, disclose known material facts affecting value that aren’t readily observable. An unauthorized occupant, a pending removal action, and any damage they’ve caused are material. Disclose them - and any buyer doing diligence will find out anyway.

Frequently asked questions

How do I remove a squatter in Florida? If they were never a tenant and no exclusion applies, file a verified complaint with the county sheriff under HB 621. Removal often happens within 24–48 hours.

How long does it take to remove a squatter in Florida? 24–48 hours under HB 621 for a genuine unauthorized occupant. 4–6 weeks or more if they’re a former tenant requiring eviction.

Is a former tenant a squatter? No. Anyone who ever had a lease - written or oral, current or expired - goes through the Chapter 83 eviction process.

Can squatters take my house in Florida? Realistically no. Adverse possession requires seven years plus payment of all property taxes for that entire period. Pay your taxes and your title is safe.

Can I change the locks? No. Self-help eviction is illegal and exposes you to damages of three months’ rent or actual damages, whichever is greater, plus attorney fees.

Can I sell a house with a squatter in it? Yes, to a cash buyer. Financed retail buyers can’t purchase an occupied property.

Does my insurance cover squatter damage? Often not on a vacant property. Check your policy and get a vacancy endorsement before the property sits empty.

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General information about Florida law, not legal advice. Whether HB 621 or Chapter 83 applies is fact-specific and using the wrong one wastes months. Call your county sheriff’s civil division and consult a Florida attorney.

Beach Bums Real Estate buys houses for cash in Orlando and Central Florida - including occupied properties. Call (689) 249-4888. If a sheriff removal is days away, do that first and sell vacant; you’ll net more.