A new federal bill, the Servicemember Residence Protection Act, has been introduced to protect active-duty military personnel from squatters taking over their houses while they are deployed. The bill aims to amend the federal Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act to ensure state-level ‘squatters’ rights’ laws cannot be used to claim the properties of men and women serving in the military.

Background

Squatters’ rights differ depending on the state, generally allowing trespassers to claim legal occupancy or ownership of a property if it is left empty and they stay there continuously. For a service member deployed overseas, fighting this in court is often impossible. They simply are not around to notice the intrusion or hire local lawyers to handle the eviction process.

Recent examples of the issue include an Army Officer in Georgia who found squatters living in her home while she was away on active duty, eleven people who moved into the Lakeland, Florida home of an Air Force member during his deployment, and a U.S. Army Reserve member in Texas who racked up $50,000 in expenses dealing with a squatter who took over her house during a deployment.

Legislative Push

The legislative push follows a quick victory in the House of Representatives, where Florida Representative Brian Mast sponsored a companion version of the bill. It passed the House floor by unanimous consent. U.S. Senator Ashley Moody said, ‘Our men and women in uniform should not have to fight a legal nightmare just to live in their own homes after serving our country. This bill is a simple fix to keep squatters out of the homes of our heroes.’

Original reporting: Tampa Free Press — read the source article.