Downloads
CS/CS/SB 322 — Property Rights
by Rules Committee; Judiciary Committee; and Senator Rodriguez
This summary is provided for information only and does not represent the opinion of any Senator, Senate Officer, or Senate Office.
Prepared by: Judiciary Committee (JU)
The bill creates a nonjudicial procedure for a property owner to request that the county sheriff remove an unauthorized person from commercial real property. This procedure is similar to procedures in existing law for the removal of an unauthorized person from a residential property. It provides that an owner of commercial property may request that the sheriff immediately remove an unauthorized person from the owner’s property. An unauthorized person is someone not authorized to occupy the property who is not a current or former tenant.
An owner must contact the sheriff and file a complaint under penalty of perjury listing the relevant facts that show eligibility for relief. If the complaint shows that the owner is eligible for relief and the sheriff can verify ownership of the property, the sheriff must remove the unauthorized person. The property owner must pay the sheriff the civil eviction fee plus an hourly rate if a deputy must stand by and keep the peace while the unauthorized person is removed. A person wrongfully removed pursuant to this procedure has a cause of action against the owner for three times the fair market rent, damages, costs, and attorney fees.
Additionally, the bill expands crimes relating to unlawfully occupying a residential dwelling or fraudulently advertising residential property for sale or lease to include commercial properties.
The procedures in the bill are similar to procedures enacted during the 2024 Legislative Session for the removal of an unauthorized person from a residential dwelling. The bill also amends that 2024 enactment to add an express grant of authority to a sheriff to use reasonably necessary force to enter a property and corrects a cross-reference.
If approved by the Governor, or allowed to become law without the Governor’s signature, these provisions take effect July 1, 2025.
Vote: Senate 39-0; House 111-0