Everyone has seen the stories. A homeowner goes on vacation only to return and find strangers in their bed and half their furnishings sold. Or a widow vacates a family home, puts her house on the market and then finds out someone moved in and changed the locks while the house was unoccupied. Or a former tenant rents out property to others and collects rent instead of the owner.
Horror stories abound of people taking advantage of lax laws and lengthy legal processes to live rent free at property owners’ expense, often damaging and ruining homes in the process. Homeowners in Wyoming haven’t been immune from people illegally occupying homes, either.
That’s why Wyoming legislators should be commended for upping the consequences for squatters and strengthening property owners’ rights during this year’s legislative session. Senate File 006 makes it a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison or up to $10,000 in fines—or both—if a person illegally occupies and knowingly damages or destroys property. It also allows homeowners to seek the immediate removal of those illegally occupying their property via law enforcement and doesn’t hold law enforcement responsible for any damage that might occur during the process.
Under the new law (approved without signature by the governor) those who create false leases or other documents in order to illegally use property will be charged with a misdemeanor and could be fined $750.00 and face up to six months in prison.
Mark Miller, senior attorney for the Pacific Legal Foundation, who testified before the Wyoming Legislature in support of the legislation, said, “With a national housing crisis and a growing threat of squatters, states like Wyoming recognize the importance of property rights and the ability of homeowners to keep and maintain control over their property.”
He said most states haven’t addressed the issue legislatively, which can lead to homeowners not being able to live in or rent their properties for months or years as they wait for the eviction process to play out in the courts. (Currently, Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia, in addition to Wyoming, have passed laws against squatting.)
Another factor leading to the explosion of cases nationwide is the lack of housing. The Pacific Legal Foundation said, “restrictions on where and what you can build—including outright prohibitions on duplexes and granny flats in many places—have limited the supply of affordable housing options.” It advocates loosening regulatory restrictions to increase the supply of housing as well as laws that protect homeowners who evict squatters on their own.
Common sense and civic duty also say that property owners should get to know their neighbors and law enforcement officers to be better able to quickly address squatting when it occurs. Detractors of the Wyoming legislation have said landlords could abuse the law to kick out legal tenants. But they can be held legally liable if that happens. And law enforcement would quickly learn who was abusing their time and trust.
Most important is that property owners in the Cowboy State can now seek redress immediately to remove those who want a free ride. Taking what is not yours is not “social justice.” It is stealing and thankfully will be treated as such going forward.
Marta Mossburg is a research fellow at Mountain States Policy Center, an independent research organization based in Idaho, Montana, Washington and Wyoming. Online at mountainstatespolicy.org.
