Arizona Governor Vetoes Bill That Would Have Allowed Authorities to Evict Squatters

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs speaks prior to President Joe Biden's remarks at Intel Ocotillo Campus in Chandler, Ariz., on March 20, 2024. Rebecca Noble/Getty Images

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has vetoed a bill seeking to strengthen the rights of homeowners looking to evict squatters from their property.

The measure, dubbed Senate Bill 1129, garnered bipartisan support and would have allowed a property owner to request law enforcement to remove an individual occupying one’s house illegally.

Under the current law in Arizona, squatters must be pursued through the courts, a process that can become convoluted and lead to property owners spending exorbitant amounts of time and money.

The vetoed measure could have sped up this process by allowing property owners to submit an affidavit to the police to file a report.

Police, acting on the owner’s affidavit, would have had permission to direct the person to leave after verifying they didn’t have a permit or legal reason to be there. If they refused this order, police could charge them with trespassing.

In her veto letter, Ms. Hobbs argued that the proposed measure “fails to leverage existing legal mechanisms, respect the due process rights of lawful tenants, and minimize unintended consequences, such as for victims of domestic violence.”

Republican state Sen. Wendy Rogers, who crafted the bill, criticized the governor’s move in a statement, saying the bill is not aimed at lawful tenants, but illegal squatters.

“This bill has absolutely NOTHING to do with landlord-tenant law and has exemptions for family members and anyone with an agreement to cohabitate,” Ms. Rogers said.

Squatting Cases

During committee hearings, property owners testified about squatters severely damaging their property, leading to high repair costs.

“We should not further victimize homeowners with a time-consuming, cumbersome, and costly removal process,” Ms. Rogers said.

Arizona state Sen. Justine Wadsack, a former real estate agent, also shared at a committee hearing that she encountered a squatter occupying a property she was showing to a client.

“It was a terrifying threat to my safety, the safety of my clients, as well as to the homeowners. When I called the police, I was told there’s not much they could do,” Ms. Wadsack said.

“Nobody should ever be allowed to live in and occupy another person’s home without their permission, yet I continue to have constituents reach out to me with these types of stories,” she added. “It’s a shame Governor Katie Hobbs has vetoed yet another piece of commonsense bipartisan legislation.”

Ms. Hobbs’s decision comes amid a surge in national stories about squatters seizing control of vacant homes, refusing to leave, and sometimes terrorizing homeowners.

Florida Gov. Ron De Santis, who signed a similar measure last month seeking to strengthen the rights of property owners in squatting cases, criticized Ms. Hobbs for blocking the bill.

“What kind of a message does that send? You’re saying you can squat in someone’s house and then they basically have to go through a six-month process,” the Republican governor said during a news conference in Redington Shores on April 24.

The bill’s veto also comes as Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed similar legislation on April 24 that protects homeowners from squatters with a new law imposing stiffer penalties for squatting and providing for an expedited eviction process.

“It is nothing short of insane that there are some who are entering other people’s homes and claiming them as their own,” Mr. Kemp said in a post on X. “Thanks to our legislative partners, I was proud to sign HB 1017—once again making it clear that illegal squatters are criminals, not residents.”

From NTD News