States Move to Limit ‘Squatters’ Rights’

States including New York and Georgia are cracking down on squatters, reports Mary Salmonsen in Smart Cities Dive.

Until recently, people living in a unit illegally for over 30 days in New York State were considered tenants, forcing the owner into a judicial eviction process. “On April 22, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the 2025 state budget, which changed the state’s property law to say that squatters are not considered tenants on any timeframe, effective immediately.”

Other states with new anti-squatting legislation include Florida, where a new bill criminalizes squatting, and Alabama, where new legislation creates a process for removal. “United States Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., also introduced a bill in the U.S. House on April 10 that, if passed, would define trespassing or squatting as grounds for deportation for any non-U.S. citizen.”

As Salmonsen explains, “The laws colloquially referred to as ‘squatters’ rights’ can also encompass adverse possession, in which a person who does not own a property may acquire title to it under certain circumstances.” According to M. Denzell Moton, attorney and owner of Moton Legal Group in Atlanta, the new laws are not expected to impact adverse possession clauses — which often deal with years or decades of residency — but will have a major impact on short-term squatters.