Montana Senate Passes Unlawful Squatting Bill
"We here in Montana are standing up for property rights and the rule of law"
The Montana State Senate on Friday passed Senate Bill (SB) 101, which deals with unlawful squatting.
The State Senate voted 34 to 14 to approve the bill. Three Democrats joined Republicans in passing SB 101. State Sen. Shelley Vance (R-Belgrade) did not vote due to being excused.
SB 101 says someone is committing the unlawful squatting offense when the individual “knowingly, without the consent of the owner, rightful occupant, or an authorized representative of the owner enters the premises of another and resides on the premises for any period of time.”
State Sen. Becky Beard (R-Ellison), who sponsored the bill, told The Montana Chronicles that unlawful squatting is happening “more and more” across Montana. She added that Montana is “going to be proactive with this.”
“ We here in Montana are standing up for property rights and the rule of law,” she explained.
”We are going to enforce the law, act on the law and prosecute the law,” she added.
Beard said the deliberation of the bill proposal went “pretty well.”
Last week, during the discussion of SB 101, Beard reiterated four points about the bill.
She said this bill would define “unrightful occupation of a property,” make the illegal occupation a criminal offense, address ways illegal occupants manipulate the law and provide clear instructions for law enforcement to take care of the criminal occupation when it occurs.
According to SB 101, a person accused of unlawful squatting will be charged with a misdemeanor and “be ordered to make restitution in an amount equal to the fair market value rent for the duration of the party's occupancy of the premises.”
In addition, someone who presents false papers to try and show ownership or the right to be on the property will be charged with forgery.
SB 101 also says that anyone who commits unlawful squatting and intentionally damages property will be charged with criminal mischief.
Furthermore, a person who falsely advertises a property for sale or rent will be charged with fraud. A conviction for this offense could result in at least a $1,000 fine and a minimum of a six-month jail sentence.
A property owner can request law enforcement come and remove the unlawful squatter. If a property owner provides false information to law enforcement, then the individual would have to compensate it “for any damages awarded against the law enforcement agency or its agents for their good faith conduct based on the request.”
The bill also allows people who believe they were removed wrongfully to take civil action.
Opponents of the bill during deliberation had concerns about tenant rights during disputes with landlords.
Beard told The Chronicles that her bill has nothing to do with tenant rights or landlord disputes.
”I had to reiterate that when someone attempts to take over your home through fraud. It's a criminal offense, and it's now actionable with law enforcement,” she said.
Mary Kay DeMers, Helena Chapter president of the Montana Landlords Association, who opposed SB 101, questioned the difference between “lawful squatting and unlawful squatting.”
“The definition is trespasser,” she said during the hearing.
“We have laws on trespassing,” she said. “I believe I have experienced that by having trespassers served with a deputy and warned that the next trespass they have is going to be criminal trespass.”
The trespassing laws that DeMers referred to during her discussion about why she opposed the bill, according to Beard, have to do with tenant-landlord disputes.
“ They are separate from what we're doing here with I own the property, and someone's in my house, so there's no tenant involved,” the state senator explained.
“ I think that we're going to look at being able to discuss strengthening language so people have less confusion about how far this bill goes. This is just owner and illegal occupant,” she added.
After passing the State Senate, the Montana State House Judiciary Committee will take up this bill.
Beard said the co-sponsor of this bill in the Montana State House is State Rep. Mike Vinton (R-Billings).
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Zachery Schmidt is the founder of The Montana Chronicles. If you have any tips, please send them to montanachronicles@proton.me.