The 'squatter scam' ends today: Ron DeSantis

Alright, so the issue of squatting now has been on the rise all across the country. That’s where people take over vacant homes. They or they rent a a property and never leave. Can you imagine? You own a property. You can’t get rid of somebody that’s in your house. Often times it could take the property owners months or even years to get the squatters thrown out. Well now the state of Florida is taking action. Governor Ron DeSantis just signed legislation that gives police the right to remove squatters as soon as they are found and makes it a felony to do more than $1000 worth of damage to a home while squatting. Take a look at this. Well, today in the state of Florida, we say very simply what what passes muster in New York and California is not passing muster here. You are not going to be able to commandeer somebody’s private property and expect to get away with it. We are in the state of Florida ending the squatter scam once and for all, and it is a scam. I know somebody in New York 4 1/2 years a squatter stayed in somebody else’s house. Now the Governor of Florida also recently signed a bill banning any children in the state under the age of 14 from having a social media account. After years of research has now revealed the serious dangers that these online platforms are posing to our kids. Anyway, joining us now, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Governor, great to have you. You know, I doubt when you got into politics that you ever imagined a day we’d be hearing story after story after story of, you know, people just commandeering other people’s homes and then the courts protecting them. I know a case in New York. It went on 4 1/2 years before they were finally legally allowed to take back their home. Is this is this America? This doesn’t sound like the America I know. What? No, Sean. And I mean, you know, you think about things like, you know, this idea of squatting when when Americans were settling, like the Old West, you’d go, maybe you didn’t know who owned it. There weren’t records. So if people started a community there, then someone came six or seven years later and claimed it was theirs, well, that was different. It’s an adverse possession. It was never intended that you could just go into some subdivision and break into a house and start living there and then all of a sudden have all these rights vested. In New York, there was a case, and it was reported, where the homeowner went when someone had taken over her house and the police did not evict the squatters. The police ended up arresting the homeowner. What kind of a country is, is that? And so like on so many issues, what New York does, what California does, Florida will do the opposite. And so the squatter scam ends today with our legislation. And and it’s important because Sean, you know, now being a Florida resident, we’ve got people that will be here for seven months of the year and then they’ll go to Michigan or New York or even Canada. So what you come back after the summer and someone’s in your house and then they just get to stay there for six months. Now in Florida, you call up, you fill out a form, Sheriff comes and the sheriff kicks them out of your property. Yeah, and and by the way, and I’ve owned property in Florida for over 20 years now. I am a domiciled resident, permanent resident of Florida. I have my Florida license to prove it, if you want to see it and and every other legal thing that I had to do. But it’s even worse than that. If people can start out, maybe they’ll pay the first month’s rent, then they’ll never pay again. And if you try to kick them out, you’re right. The home that you were describing was a cake that was over $1,000,000 that property. And they arrested the homeowner. And I’m, I’m thinking to myself, what country is this that they arrest the homeowner and the squatter gets to stay in that person’s house? You can’t make that up, Mohan. It’s like the private property rights that’s the bedrock of a free society and a constitutional Republic. And what I think the left is doing, what some of these activists are doing, heck, even the illegal aliens are going on social media and talking about squatting and urging other foreign nationals to come to this country illegally and commandeer property. You know, if we don’t have private property rights, we will not have a free society. So it is the bedrock Florida stands by that we’re proud do it. And you know, Sean, it’s like yet another reason why people are going to choose to flee from the New Yorks and the California and end up coming down here to the Sunshine State. Let me tell you, you have baby boomers that have yet to retire, people that have just gotten fed up with the crime, the high taxes, the way of life, they’re going to be leaving in droves for the next two decades. I don’t think this migration is ending anytime soon. Let me ask you about social media and kids and 14 year olds. And because there is a lot of danger. There are predators out there that are targeting our children online. You are very successful with this legislation. I think it’s been misconstrued by some in the media. Not a big shock to you, but your reaction. Yeah. So basically, look, I’m a dad, Sean. I’ve got a first grader, kindergartner to preschooler. So my wife and I are thinking as they get older, you know, what is this landscape going to even look like? And the reality is it’s hard for parents to keep up with everything that’s out there. And So what our legislation says is for 14 and 15 year olds, social media companies cannot issue them their own social media account unless the parent can sense so. Then this way the parent can kind of know the dangers and then make that decision. 13 and under social media companies cannot issue an account. And here’s the thing, under 13 is already prohibited under federal law. It’s just not enforced. So you do have 8 year olds and 10 year olds who have these. What we’ve said is we’re not really regulating the use. I mean, if a 12 year old has something, it’s not really about that. It’s about holding the social media companies accountable. If a parent wants to have a social media account and let their 11 year old use it, they are free to do it under there. So I think it strikes the right balance to try to help parents navigate this really perilous landscape. And you’re right. The predators, you used to have to worry about the predator. If you know the kids out in the neighborhood and someone would come buying like a van. Now the predator can come right into your house. The kid can be there. Your kid can be, you know, just just safe as can be. And then through that Internet and through those social media apps. So I think we struck a good balance here. And here’s the thing, Sean, we’re not talking about the content. We’re talking about apps and social media networks that have addictive qualities. So if they don’t have the addictive qualities, then the bill doesn’t even apply in that situation. You know, I know a group of parents that actually have all come to an agreement, no cell phones for their kids until eighth grade. I actually thought it was a great decision and many of the parents, what they have decided to do, I haven’t had a landline in years. I don’t know about you, Governor, but I don’t even know what one looks like anymore. And they just decided if they do, if they allow any phone use, it’s going to be a landline in their house that they can hear the conversation now thought, pretty creative idea. It’s interesting, Sean. So last year we did a bill that I signed that said school districts could say no cell phones during class time. There was a huge uproar about that. People were saying that somehow this was, you know, too restrictive. And yet what’s happened this school year, the kids are learning better, everyone’s happier because the attention is on what’s happening in the classroom. I’d also say, just as a pair of my wife and I have talked about this, our kids are too young to have any phones. We’ve decided that when they do get a phone, probably not going to be a smartphone. It’s going to be one of those old flip phones that we used to have where they can make a call if they need anything from us. But we don’t have to worry about all the hundreds of different apps. And here’s the thing, Sean too. Apart from all the really significant harms with the predators, it’s not healthy to have kids buried in their phones 8 hours a day. Thanks for being with us, Governor Ron De Santis.