Bill looks to create harsher penalties for squatters in Randolph County

RANDOLPH COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) – Many of us don’t realize our local realtors are facing issues with squatters.

A Randolph County legislator introduced a bill that could create harsher penalties for these unwelcome house guests.

It’s House Bill 966. If passed, it will help make it easier and quicker to get a squatter off your property. By definition, a squatter is someone who moves into an unoccupied property and lives there without permission.

Squatters don’t have a lease or any sort of contractual agreement with the property owner. It sounds like it should be a crime, but it’s a civil issue, and one that as the law stands right now, takes a while to sort out.

“When I got to the property, a whole family had moved in and … and they did not want to move out,” said Representative Brian Biggs, who’s a co-sponsor of this bill. “I went to the magistrate, and I went to the court, and I said, ‘We need to get these guys out. How are we going to do it?'”

Biggs, who represents the northern part of Randolph County in the North Carolina House, has been a realtor for more than 20 years. During that time, he’s dealt with squatters on several occasions.

“They said you’re going to have to evict your tenant,” Biggs said. “I said my tenant passed away. You still have to evict your tenant. So I had to go court and evict a lady that had passed away in order to get the sheriff’s department legally to come there and padlock the doors while people were in there.”

Biggs said in some cases, the squatters are doing thousands of dollars worth of damage.

“They don’t only move into the home, they’re doing damages and destroying the property,” said Biggs. “Then the homeowner has to pay for that.”

It’s these experiences that prompted him to co-sponsor House Bill 966. It’s a bill he’s hoping will make the punishment more severe for squatting and destroying properties in the process.

“You can be charged with a Class H felony,” he said. “Another thing that they’re looking at is the damages.  If you do $1,000 or more damage, it’s a Class H felony also, which is four to five months.”

It would make it faster to get squatters out. Right now, the process takes months. Under the new bill, it would only take hours.

“With this new rule, they can get have them removed within 24 hours,” Biggs said.

Local realtors are on board with tougher legislation.

“If someone is in your property illegally, I think that there should be something in place to offset that,” said Marvette Artis, the president of the Greensboro Regional Realtors Association.

While we wait to see if lawmakers pass this bill, Artis has some advice to make sure your property is protected.

“Make sure that you frequently check on the property, have a neighbor or someone you know check on the property,” she said. “More importantly, if you don’t live in the area, hire a property manager to make sure that they update you frequently on the condition of the property.”

This bill will go before several committees before making its way to the House floor for a vote. If it passes, it moves to the Senate for a vote and then would go to Governor Roy Cooper’s desk for his signature.

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