PHOENIX — A new Arizona law aims to make it easier for homeowners to remove squatters.
Gov. Katie Hobbs on Friday signed Senate Bill 1426, which streamlines the removal of unlawful occupants from residences. The bill sponsor, state Sen. Wendy Rogers, said the bill is common-sense legislation that closes loopholes.
"And what we're talking about is cutting unnecessary red tape, giving property owners the tools they need to protect what is theirs,” she said.
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Under SB 1426, which passed the Legislature with broad bipartisan support, squatters can be removed in just three days, much faster than a usual eviction.
“A normal eviction would take place over a period of about 19 days, so this is streamlined into days, not 19,” said Constable Scott Blake of the Hassayampa Precinct.
The new rules don’t apply to current or former tenants, immediate family members of the homeowner or anyone who had a prior verbal or written agreement to live on the property with the owner.
“So it's not the situation where someone's lover has fallen out of grace and they want to kick the lover out,” Rogers said.
'They kept coming back'
Phoenix homeowner D’Andrea Turner welcomes the new law. Squatters moved into her house in December 2024 – and then sold it.
“What is there to protect us as citizens of Arizona, as working-class people that's putting our money into mortgages and things that we think is going to sustain for us when we're done working?” Turner said.
She was out of state dealing with a serious medical condition and caring for her elderly mother. Her husband, a long-haul trucker, discovered the squatters.
“He went, found the squatters there, tried to get them out,” she said. “They kept coming back. He got the police involved, and that's when we found out that the sale happened.”
Turner told ABC15 she hopes the bill will deter squatters.
“I think this bill will be an automatic switch and also put in the minds of the criminals that we are not going to lay down and allow them to take our hard work as pennies,” he said.
The two suspects in the case have both pleaded guilty. But Turner’s legal saga isn’t over. She’s still fighting her insurance company over the damage, and she’s still sleeping at her daughter’s home.
“Could you imagine someone 19 days in your home, and you're sleeping on someone's couch after 12 years of paying?” she said.
SB 1426 will take effect 90 days after the legislative session ends. Lawmakers are expected to wrap the session up this month.
