Florida Lawmaker Tries Again In Effort To Curb Use Of 'Adverse Possession' Claims In Home-Snatching Rackets Targeting Vacant Houses

In Tallahassee, Florida, WBBH-TV Channel 2 reports:

• For at least two years, Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, has tried to make it more difficult for people to take possession of land or homes that they don't own. An unusual state law that has roots back to the 1800s allows someone to pay property taxes on homes or land they don't own. If after seven years there is no protest from the owner, the squatter can get the title to the property by filing an "adverse possession" claim.
• It was intended to encourage the development of blighted or abandoned property that is not generating tax income. But in recent years this little-known state law has been abused due to the proliferation of vacant homes from the collapse of the Florida housing market.
• Companies have sprung up that scout for vacant or abandoned homes and file adverse possession claims, renting them out and making a profit. The homeowner often isn't aware, and in more than one instance, a Realtor or family member is shocked to discover the property takeover. They find that the home's locks have been changed.
• Law enforcement officials have been called in to sort out the confusion, and in several cases, have made arrests for fraud. Polk County, where Dockery lives, has been besieged with more than 800 of these claims, but it's a statewide problem.
• "It is happening all across the state and it is becoming more and more of an issue," said Marsha Faux, president of the Florida Association of Property Appraisers and the Polk County Property Appraiser.
• The proposal to make it more difficult to file adverse possession claims has struggled to gain approval from the Legislature. Last year it passed the Florida Senate but stalled in the House of Representatives. This year, the bill's prognosis looks promising. The measure (SB 1142, HB 927) is up in the Senate Budget Committee Thursday and has passed one House committee. "We are just trying to update an archaic law," Dockery said.

For more, see Bill would stamp out squatters' claims.