LANSING — Sen. Joseph Bellino Jr., R-Monroe, recently introduced Senate Bill 909, a squatting proposal.
“Michigan families going on a summer vacation or seniors heading to Florida for the winter should not have to worry about a squatter claiming residence in their house,” Bellino said in a news release. “Squatting is already illegal in Michigan, but a gray area in the law means that homeowners might need to go through an expensive and lengthy legal battle just to remove trespassers from their property. It’s just wrong. This legislation would make the process faster and easier for property owners to have law enforcement to safely address these trespassers and allow the rightful owners to get back in their home.”
Squatting, Bellino’s office said in the news release, is a type of trespassing when someone enters someone else’s property without the owner’s permission and begins to take residence on that property. In Michigan, a first squatting offense is a misdemeanor punishable by up to $5,000 or 180 days in jail. The second offense is a felony punishable by up to $10,000 or two years in prison.
Under current state law, police can remove people for trespassing onto private property. However, when trespassers begin to illegally occupy private property and claim they have a legal reason to stay there, the process gets much more difficult, Bellino’s office said.
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“Senate Bill 909 would allow property owners to file a complaint with their county sheriff and request the removal of squatters from their property. Once the complaint is submitted and verified, the sheriff must immediately order all unlawful occupants to vacate the property. The sheriff may arrest the squatters for trespassing if they refuse to leave,” Bellino’s office said.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Sen. Bellino’s bill would help remove squatters from homes
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