State legislature re-evaluating squatter laws

AUSTIN – The Texas Legislature held a hearing earlier this month to re-evaluate the state’s laws on squatters’ rights.

According to a notice of public hearing, the committee’s intention was to “secure Texas against ‘Squatters’” and “review current laws relating to ‘squatters’ or those claiming adverse possession of property,” as well as to “[m]ake recommendations to streamline the process for the immediate removal of ‘squatters’ and to strengthen the rights of property owners.”

Having squatters removed can be an expensive and time-consuming legal process. In Texas, property owners must issue a three-day notice to quit before law enforcement can assist in removing a person.

“The eviction laws, as they are written, are designed for getting tenants out of property,” Texas Real Estate Research Center Research Attorney Rusty Adams told the Texas Tribune. “I know we have some people who are purported tenants, and we may have some way to deal with that. But [when dealing with] a pure trespasser, these laws are not working because they put the burden on the property owner to show that this person doesn’t have to be there.”