Texas Senate passes anti-squatter bill

AUSTIN, Texas - The Texas Senate has passed an anti-squatter bill aimed at stopping people from living on property they don't own or rent without permission.

Senate Bill 38 was a priority measure by Lt. Governor Dan Patrick aimed at restoring property rights and overhauling the state's flawed civil eviction process, says a release from Texas state Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston).

What we know:

Squatting is a crisis that stretches across the state of Texas which is leading to a stretched-out eviction process in civil court.

Bettencourt, who co-authored the bill, says that the current process punishes rightful property owners while rewarding trespassers.

Under the new proposed legislation, the landlord must give the tenant at least five days' written notice to leave the property before filing for eviction, unless there is a written lease or agreement allowing for a shorter or longer stay. 

The courts are also required to act within 10 to 21 days of a property owner’s filing.

"You can't stay in the home because we have the ability to do a quick eviction process. And we did take an amendment that's already on the House bill by House Pro Tem Joe Moody that I also made sure that the tenants in normal contract situations have some rights," said Bettencourt.

By the numbers:

"We found that there was a much larger number of squatters than anyone realized. Dallas actually had 475 cases ongoing. We found hundreds more in one constable district in Houston. When you add all that up, we're looking at thousands of cases, and the cases those are really horrifying," said Bettencourt.

Bettencourt says there was a 70% bipartisan support on the bill, but there has been pushback by some lawmakers and organizations that believe it may hurt tenants facing eviction.

"I think we've struck the right balance between property rights of the owners and the needs of the of the renters but to drive out the squatters that are really taking advantage of the fact that that they think they don't have to pay anything or they have no penalty of occupying what they don't own," said Bettencourt.

What's next:

The bill will have to pass the House before it makes it to the governor's desk.