U.S. Senator Ashley Moody has introduced a new bill to protect active-duty military personnel from a growing real estate headache: squatters taking over their houses while they are deployed.
The Servicemember Residence Protection Act would amend the federal Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act. The goal is straightforward: ensure state-level “squatters’ rights” laws can never be used to claim the properties of men and women serving in the military.
Squatters’ rights differ depending on the state. Generally, they allow 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.
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.
“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. I was encouraged to see the House of Representatives pass this bill unanimously, and now I call upon the Senate to act,” Moody said.
The bill addresses several real-world incidents that have cost troops thousands of dollars and left them temporarily locked out of their own properties upon returning from service.
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.
- 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.
Because evicting an illegal occupant normally requires prolonged legal intervention, this bill seeks to create an immediate federal exemption for service members, closing the loopholes that trespassers exploit during military absences.
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