Hall Bill Lets Sheriffs Remove Squatters Without Going To Court

The text as introduced · 2,510 words

By: Hall
S.B. No. 1995

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the unauthorized entry, occupancy, sale, rental, lease,

advertisement for sale, rental, or lease, or conveyance of real

property, including the removal of certain unauthorized occupants

of a dwelling; creating criminal offenses; increasing a criminal

penalty.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 28.03(b), Penal Code, is amended to read

as follows:

(b) Except as provided by Subsections (f) and (h), an

offense under this section is:

(1) a Class C misdemeanor if:

(A) the amount of pecuniary loss is less than

$100; or

(B) except as provided in Subdivision (3)(A) or

(3)(B), it causes substantial inconvenience to others;

(2) a Class B misdemeanor if the amount of pecuniary

loss is $100 or more but less than $750;

(3) a Class A misdemeanor if:

(A) the amount of pecuniary loss is $750 or more

but less than $2,500; or

(B) the actor causes in whole or in part

impairment or interruption of any public water supply, or causes to

be diverted in whole, in part, or in any manner, including

installation or removal of any device for any such purpose, any

public water supply, regardless of the amount of the pecuniary

loss;

(4) a state jail felony if the amount of pecuniary loss

is:

(A) $2,500 or more but less than $30,000;

(B) except as provided in Subdivision (6)(B),

less than $2,500, if the property damaged or destroyed is a

habitation and if the damage or destruction is caused by a firearm

or explosive weapon;

(C) less than $2,500, if the property was a fence

used for the production or containment of:

(i) cattle, bison, horses, sheep, swine,

goats, exotic livestock, or exotic poultry; or

(ii) game animals as that term is defined by

Section 63.001, Parks and Wildlife Code;

(D) less than $30,000 and the actor:

(i) causes wholly or partly impairment or

interruption of property used for flood control purposes or a dam or

of public communications, public transportation, public gas

supply, or other public service; or

(ii) causes to be diverted wholly, partly,

or in any manner, including installation or removal of any device

for any such purpose, any public communications or public gas

supply; or

(E) less than $30,000, if the property is a motor

vehicle that is damaged, destroyed, or tampered with during the

removal or attempted removal of a catalytic converter from the

motor vehicle;

(5) a felony of the third degree if:

(A) the amount of the pecuniary loss is $30,000

or more but less than $150,000;

(B) the actor, by discharging a firearm or other

weapon or by any other means, causes the death of one or more head of

cattle or bison or one or more horses;

(C) the actor causes wholly or partly impairment

or interruption of access to an automated teller machine,

regardless of the amount of the pecuniary loss; or

(D) the amount of pecuniary loss is less than

$150,000 and the actor:

(i) causes wholly or partly impairment or

interruption of property used for public power supply; or

(ii) causes to be diverted wholly, partly,

or in any manner, including installation or removal of any device

for any such purpose, any public power supply;

(6) a felony of the second degree if the amount of

pecuniary loss is :

(A) $150,000 or more but less than $300,000; or

(B) $1,000 or more but less than $300,000, if:

(i) the property damaged or destroyed is a

habitation; and

(ii) it is shown on the trial of the offense

that the actor committed the offense in the course of committing an

offense under Section 30.05; or

(7) a felony of the first degree if the amount of

pecuniary loss is $300,000 or more.

SECTION 2. Section 30.05(b)(2), Penal Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(2) "Notice" means:

(A) oral or written communication by the owner or

someone with apparent authority to act for the owner;

(B) fencing or other enclosure obviously

designed to exclude intruders or to contain livestock;

(C) a sign or signs posted on the property or at

the entrance to the building, reasonably likely to come to the

attention of intruders, indicating that entry is forbidden;

(D) the placement of identifying purple paint

marks on trees or posts on the property, provided that the marks

are:

(i) vertical lines of not less than eight

inches in length and not less than one inch in width;

(ii) placed so that the bottom of the mark

is not less than three feet from the ground or more than five feet

from the ground; and

(iii) placed at locations that are readily

visible to any person approaching the property and no more than:

(a) 100 feet apart on forest land; or

(b) 1,000 feet apart on land other

than forest land; [ or ]

(E) the visible presence on the property of a

crop grown for human consumption that is under cultivation, in the

process of being harvested, or marketable if harvested at the time

of entry ; or

(F) oral or written communication by a sheriff or

constable while serving a notice to immediately vacate under

Section 24B.003, Property Code .

SECTION 3. Subchapter D, Chapter 32, Penal Code, is amended

by adding Sections 32.56 and 32.57 to read as follows:

Sec. 32.56. FALSE, FRAUDULENT, OR FICTITIOUS DOCUMENT

CONVEYING REAL PROPERTY INTEREST. (a) A person commits an offense

if, with intent to enter or remain on real property, the person

knowingly presents to another person a false, fraudulent, or

fictitious document purporting to be a lease agreement, deed, or

other instrument conveying real property or an interest in real

property.

(b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.

(c) If conduct that constitutes an offense under this

section also constitutes an offense under any other law, the actor

may be prosecuted under this section or the other law, but not both.

Sec. 32.57. FRAUDULENT SALE, RENTAL, OR LEASE OF

RESIDENTIAL REAL PROPERTY. (a) A person commits an offense if the

person knowingly:

(1) lists or advertises for sale, rent, or lease

residential real property while knowing that the person offering to

sell, rent, or lease the property does not have legal title or

authority to sell, rent, or lease the property; or

(2) sells, rents, or leases to another person

residential real property to which the person does not have legal

title or authority to sell, rent, or lease.

(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the first

degree.

(c) If conduct that constitutes an offense under this

section also constitutes an offense under any other law, the actor

may be prosecuted under this section or the other law, but not both.

SECTION 4. Title 4, Property Code, is amended by adding

Chapter 24B to read as follows:

CHAPTER 24B. REMOVAL OF CERTAIN UNAUTHORIZED OCCUPANTS OF REAL

PROPERTY

Sec. 24B.001. RIGHT TO REQUEST REMOVAL OF UNAUTHORIZED

OCCUPANT OF DWELLING BY SHERIFF OR CONSTABLE. Notwithstanding any

other law, an owner of residential real property or the owner's

agent may request that the sheriff or constable of the county in

which the property is located immediately remove a person who

unlawfully entered and is occupying a dwelling on the property

without the owner's consent if:

(1) the property:

(A) was not open to the public when the person

entered the property; and

(B) is not the subject of pending litigation

between the owner and the person;

(2) the owner or the owner's agent has directed the

person to leave the property and the person has not done so; and

(3) the person is not:

(A) a current or former tenant of the owner under

an oral or written lease; or

(B) an immediate family member of the owner.

Sec. 24B.002. COMPLAINT TO REQUEST REMOVAL OF UNAUTHORIZED

OCCUPANT. (a) A property owner or the owner's agent may request

the removal of a person under Section 24B.001 by submitting to the

sheriff or constable of the county in which the property is located

a complaint in substantially the following form that complies with

Subsection (b):

COMPLAINT TO REMOVE PERSON OCCUPYING DWELLING

WITHOUT OWNER'S CONSENT

I, _____ (name of complainant), declare under the penalty of

perjury that:

(Complete each item as applicable and initial each item.)

___ 1. I am the owner of residential real property

located at ______(property address) or the agent of the owner.

___ 2. A person unlawfully entered and occupies a

dwelling on the property without the owner's consent.

___ 3. The property was not open to the public when the

person entered the property.

___ 4. The property is not the subject of pending

litigation between the owner and the person.

___ 5. The owner or the owner's agent has directed the

person to leave the property and the person has not done so.

___ 6. The person is not a current or former tenant of

the owner under an oral or written lease and any lease produced by

the person is fraudulent.

___ 7. The person is not an owner or co-owner of the

property and any title to the property that lists the person as an

owner or co-owner is fraudulent.

___ 8. The person is not an immediate family member of

the owner.

___ 9. I understand that a person removed from the

property as a result of this complaint may bring an action against

me for any false statement made in the complaint or for wrongfully

submitting the complaint.

___ 10. I understand that I may be held liable for

actual damages, exemplary damages, court costs, and reasonable

attorney's fees in an action described by Item 9.

___ 11. I am requesting that the (sheriff) (constable)

immediately remove each person occupying the dwelling without the

owner's consent.

___ 12. A copy of my valid government-issued

identification is attached and, if I am the owner's agent, a

document evidencing my authority to act on the property owner's

behalf is attached.

I HAVE READ EACH STATEMENT IN THIS COMPLAINT AND CONFIRM EACH

STATEMENT IS TRUE AND CORRECT. I UNDERSTAND THAT A STATEMENT

MADE IN THIS COMPLAINT IS MADE UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY,

PUNISHABLE UNDER SECTION 37.02, PENAL CODE.

____________(signature of complainant)

(b) A complaint submitted under this section must be made

under oath or made as an unsworn declaration under Section 132.001,

Civil Practice and Remedies Code.

(c) All information submitted as part of a complaint under

this section shall be presumed valid and accurate.

Sec. 24B.003. VERIFICATION OF COMPLAINT; SERVICE OF NOTICE

TO IMMEDIATELY VACATE. (a) A sheriff or constable who receives a

complaint under Section 24B.002 shall verify that the complainant

is:

(1) the record owner of the property that is the

subject of the complaint or the owner's agent; and

(2) otherwise entitled to the relief sought in the

complaint.

(b) During the verification of a complaint under Subsection

(a), the person occupying the dwelling has the burden to prove the

owner or the owner's agent is not entitled to the relief sought in

the complaint.

(c) On verifying the complaint under Subsection (a), the

sheriff or constable shall without delay:

(1) serve notice to immediately vacate on the person

occupying the dwelling without the owner's consent; and

(2) put the owner in possession of the dwelling.

(d) Service of notice to immediately vacate may be

accomplished by:

(1) hand delivery to an occupant of the dwelling; or

(2) affixing the notice to the front door or entrance

of the dwelling.

(e) A sheriff or constable serving notice to immediately

vacate under this section shall:

(1) attempt to verify the identity of each person

occupying the dwelling and note each identity on the return of

service; and

(2) use all available resources to determine whether

each person occupying the dwelling is lawfully present in the

United States and report to appropriate federal authorities the

identity of any person not lawfully present.

(f) A sheriff or constable serving notice to immediately

vacate under this section may arrest any person found in the

dwelling for an outstanding warrant or for trespass or any other

offense for which probable cause exists.

(g) A sheriff or constable serving notice to immediately

vacate under this section shall inform each person vacating the

property that the person will be trespassing if the person returns

to the property after vacating.

(h) After the service of notice to immediately vacate by the

sheriff or constable under Subsection (c), the property owner or

owner's agent may request that the sheriff or constable remain on

the property to keep the peace while the owner or owner's agent:

(1) changes any locks; and

(2) removes any personal property of an occupant from

the dwelling and places the personal property at or near the

property line of the owner's property.

Sec. 24B.004. LIABILITY. (a) A sheriff or constable is not

liable to an unauthorized occupant or any other person for loss or

destruction of or damage to property resulting from the removal of a

person or property under this chapter.

(b) Subject to Section 24B.005, a property owner or the

owner's agent is not liable to any person for loss or destruction of

or damage to personal property resulting from the removal of the

personal property from the owner's property under this chapter.

Sec. 24B.005. ACTION FOR WRONGFUL REMOVAL. (a) A person

who is wrongfully removed, or whose personal property is wrongfully

removed, from a dwelling or other real property under this chapter

may bring an action under this section to:

(1) recover possession of the real property; and

(2) recover from the person who requested the wrongful

removal:

(A) actual damages;

(B) exemplary damages equal to three times the

fair market rent of the dwelling;

(C) court costs; and

(D) reasonable attorney's fees.

(b) The court shall set an action brought under this section

for hearing at the earliest practicable date to expedite the

action.

Sec. 24B.006. NONEXCLUSIVITY. This chapter does not limit:

(1) the rights of a property owner; or

(2) the authority of a law enforcement officer to

arrest an unauthorized occupant of a dwelling for trespassing,

vandalism, theft, or another offense.

SECTION 5. Section 28.03, Penal Code, as amended by this

Act, applies only to an offense committed on or after the effective

date of this Act. An offense committed before the effective date of

this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was

committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that

purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense was committed

before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense

occurred before that date.

SECTION 6. This Act takes effect July 1, 2025, if this Act

receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each

house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.

If this Act does not receive the vote necessary to take effect on

that date, this Act takes effect September 1, 2025.