Florida's New Anti-Squatter Law Hits October 1: The Paperwork That Protects Your Home

Florida just made it a felony to lie your way into someone's house. On June 12, Governor DeSantis signed HB 1293, and starting October 1, 2026, "fraudulent entry of a residential dwelling unit" is a third-degree felony in Florida, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

The bill passed the House 110 to 0 and the Senate 34 to 0. Florida is the first state in the country to make residential rental application fraud a crime, and the timing matters for regular homeowners more than you might think. Snowbird season is coming, hundreds of thousands of Florida homes sit empty for part of the year, and the scams this law targets almost always start with a vacant house.

Here is what the new law does, how it fits with the squatter removal law Florida passed in 2024, and the one thing every homeowner should do before October: get your ownership paperwork where you can actually find it.

What HB 1293 actually does

The new law creates the crime of fraudulent entry: entering and taking possession of a home by giving false statements about your identity, handing over fake identity or financial documents, or impersonating another person.

In plain terms, the schemes it covers look like this. Someone rents your house using a stolen or synthetic identity. Someone hands a landlord forged pay stubs or a fake employment letter. Someone poses as the owner of an empty home and "rents" it to an unsuspecting tenant. Online services that generate fake pay stubs and reference letters have made all of this cheap and common.

Starting October 1, each of those is a felony, not just a civil headache.

The law also settles a practical question for anyone who rents out property. Fraudulent entry is classified as a non-curable lease violation. That means if you discover a tenant got in with fake documents, you can issue a seven day notice to vacate with no opportunity to cure, and begin eviction immediately when the notice expires. Before this, fraud evictions were possible but legally murkier.

It builds on the 2024 squatter removal law

If HB 1293 sounds familiar, that is because Florida already took a big swing at squatting. HB 621, effective July 1, 2024 and now codified as Florida Statute 82.036, created a fast removal process that skips the traditional eviction lawsuit entirely.

Under that law, a homeowner can ask the county sheriff to immediately remove an unlawful occupant when a few conditions are met: the person unlawfully entered and remains on the property, they were told to leave and did not, they are not a current or former tenant in a legal dispute or a family member of the owner, and there is no pending litigation about the occupancy.

The process runs through a sworn form called a Complaint to Remove Persons Unlawfully Occupying Residential Real Property, filed with the sheriff of the county where the home sits. HB 621 also made it a first degree misdemeanor to present false documents, like a fake lease, to claim a right to occupy a property.

So the two laws now work as a pair. The 2024 law gets unlawful occupants out fast. The 2026 law makes the fraud that got them in a felony, and gives landlords a clean, immediate path to evict when the fraud surfaces later.

The catch: the sheriff needs proof, and so do you

Here is the part that gets glossed over in the headlines. The fast removal process only works if you can prove, on the spot, that the home is yours.

The sheriff's complaint requires evidence of ownership. In practice that means your deed, and ideally supporting records: closing documents, your property tax bill, your ID matching the deed address, your homestead exemption confirmation. A squatter with a convincing fake lease and a homeowner who cannot locate their own deed is exactly the standoff these laws are trying to prevent, and the side with organized paperwork wins.

This is worth taking seriously if any of these describe you: you leave your Florida home empty for weeks or months (snowbirds, this is you), you own a second home or an inherited property you visit rarely, you rent out a home or an accessory unit, even casually, or you recently bought and your records are still scattered between email, a closing folder, and a title company portal.

What to do before October 1

A short list, none of it expensive:

• Locate your deed and closing documents now. Not "somewhere in the garage." Scanned, backed up, and findable from your phone, because if you ever need the sheriff removal process, you will not be at your filing cabinet.
• Sign up for your county's property fraud alert. Most Florida clerks of court offer a free service that emails you when any document is recorded against your name or property. It is the earliest warning you will get of deed fraud.
• Check on vacant property, or have someone do it. These scams start with a house that looks unwatched. A neighbor, a property manager, or a trusted local pro doing a monthly walk keeps yours off the list.
• If you rent your place out, tighten screening. Verify identity and income directly, not just from documents the applicant hands you. The new law punishes fraud after the fact, but screening keeps it out entirely.
• Update your lease language. If you are a landlord, make sure your lease reflects the new fraudulent entry provisions before your next signing.

Where Canopy fits

Almost everything above comes down to one question: when it matters, can you put your hands on proof that this home is yours?

That is the job Canopy was built for. Your deed, closing documents, tax notices, and homestead exemption confirmation live in one secure document vault, not five drawers and three inboxes. Ask Canopy keeps watch over your records and flags what is missing or about to lapse. And when you need eyes on a vacant property or a repair handled from out of state, the marketplace connects you with trusted local pros, with the work logged back into your home's record.

New laws gave Florida homeowners real teeth against squatters and fraud. Paperwork you can find is how you actually use them.

Canopy is launching in Florida. Start your home's record. Your Home, Handled.

Sources: Florida House of Representatives, CS/HB 1293, Fraudulent Entry of Residential Dwellings (signed June 12, 2026, effective October 1, 2026); Law Offices of Heist, Weisse and Wolk, "Florida's New Law on Tenant Application Fraud"; National Apartment Association, "Rental Application Fraud To Become Crime in Florida"; Fla. Stat. 82.036 (HB 621, 2024, effective July 1, 2024); Greenspoon Marder, "Florida's Crackdown on Residential Squatting: What You Need to Know About HB 621." This article is general information, not legal or insurance advice. Confirm current requirements with your county sheriff, clerk of court, or an attorney before acting.