Parliament has unanimously passed an amendment to simplify and accelerate legal proceedings against squatters. According to the amendment, intruders occupying a property can soon be expelled within 72 hours. There were a number of outrageous squatting incidents of late, and strangers occupying other people s homes can, in line with the current regulations, only be evicted though lenghty legal procedures.

French property owners appear to have an abundance of problems with squatters, who simply enter empty properties when the owners are away and make themselves at home. The summer months and the national lockdown saw an exponential rise in the number of such cases as squatters – being perfectly aware that the law is on their side –  have specialised on holiday homes. According to the current regulation, if someone has spent more than 48 hours in or on somone else s property, the eviction isn t that easy. The owner has to initiate legal proceedings, which can take months or even years to conclude.

The recent ordeal of an elderly French couple – when a retired man was unable to enter his own holiday home occupied by a couple with two small children – has received extensive media coverage. The couple eventually managed to evict the intruders, but the owner said they had to clean the house for days and throw away some of the ruined furniture before they could retake possession of their property, Le Figaro reports.

A similar case occurred with an elderly lady in a town called Saint-Honoré-les-Bains, in Nievre departement. The retired woman lives a nursing home, and her house was occupied by a couple. The old lady s son tried to evict the intruders, but they refused to leave. Footage taken at the scene shows the intruders as they explain that they know the law and are aware of their rights. They are also heard making promises to take care of the house and not break anything, and then asking the rightful owners to seek accommodation somewhere else, Valeurs actuelles reports.

As the number of such cases rose sharply, the French government decided to act. According to Housing Minister Emmanuelle Wargon, the cabinet submitted a bill to enable owners to evict arbitrary occupiers within 72 hours. The proposal suggests that squatters should be given 24 hours to leave voluntarily and, if they refuse to go, they will be evicted by the authorities.

The housing minister also noted that the law will no longer distinguish between primary and secondary real estate, such as a holiday home. Earlier, procedures were more cumbersome and time-consuming if squatters occupied a holiday home, and not someone s primary residence.

Pro-government MP Guillaume Kasbarian said parliament has unanimously passed an amendment to the law to simplify and accelerate legal procedures. If all goes well, the new law is expected to come into force in October, or at the end of December, the latest.

Eric Ciotti, the Republican MP of Alpes-Maritimes departement, has criticised the proposal arguing that in terms of penalties, squatters still face lower fines than property owners who try to evict intruders on their own. This is because arbitrary occupiers can be fined 15,000 euros, whereas property owners acting in their own interest can receive an even heftier, 30,000-euro fine.

Ciotti has also criticised Guillaume Kasbarian s proposal for including no sanctions against squatters and says that those who arbitrarily occupy a property should be sentenced to 3 years in prison, because taking someone s property is nothing less but theft.