Can You Steal a House in Florida?

Deed fraud, forged property transfers, and squatters who refuse to leave can all turn into serious felony charges under Florida law — not a matter left to a civil courtroom alone.

Can real property actually be “stolen” under Florida’s theft statute?

Most people picture theft as someone walking off with a television or a car. Florida’s theft statute is broader than that. Section 812.014, Florida Statutes, makes it a crime to knowingly obtain or use the property of another with intent to deprive the owner of it or appropriate it for someone not entitled to it. The definitions section governing that statute, section 812.012, expressly includes real property — land and anything affixed to it — in the definition of “property.” A house is not off the table just because you cannot pick it up and carry it away.

In practice, this is rarely someone literally moving into a stranger’s house and claiming it on the spot. It is almost always a paper crime first — someone manipulates the deed or the county’s official records, and the theft happens through documents rather than a physical taking. Also, the value of the house drives the degree of the offense the same way it would with any other stolen property. Under 812.014(2)(a), theft of property valued at $100,000 or more is grand theft in the first degree, punishable by up to 30 years in prison. Given local home values, almost any residential property clears that threshold, so a deed-theft scheme is routinely charged at the top end of the grand theft statute.

How does someone actually “steal” a deed, and what makes it a crime?

The scheme usually starts with a fraudulent deed — most often a quitclaim deed, because a quitclaim deed transfers whatever interest the signer has (or claims to have) without any warranty that the signer actually owns the property, and it does not draw the scrutiny a warranty deed gets from a title company. The scammer prepares a deed purporting to transfer the property from the true owner to themselves or a straw buyer, forges the owner’s signature, and forges the notarization as well. Once that document is recorded with the county clerk, it becomes part of the official record and can create the appearance the scammer holds legal title.

Recording that false deed is itself a separate crime from theft. Section 817.535, Florida Statutes, makes it a third-degree felony to file, or direct someone to file, an instrument in the official records containing a materially false statement affecting an owner’s interest in real property, with intent to defraud or harass. A second or subsequent violation is a second-degree felony, and if the true owner suffers a financial loss from the recording — including the cost of removing it — the offense is reclassified upward a degree. Separately, presenting the forged deed as genuine can be charged as uttering a forged instrument under section 831.02, a third-degree felony that reaches deeds through its cross-reference to section 831.01. This is so because uttering does not require that anyone actually got defrauded — the State only has to prove the defendant knowingly presented the forged deed as true, with intent to injure or defraud.

Where the scammer had to impersonate the owner or use the owner’s personal identifying information to pull off the forgery — a stolen Social Security number, a copied driver’s license, or the owner’s signature used without consent — section 817.568, criminal use of personal identification information, can be charged on top of the theft and forgery counts, with escalating degrees based on the dollar amount involved, up to a mandatory minimum 10-year sentence at $100,000 or more.

What about someone who just moves into a house and refuses to leave?

Squatting is a related but distinct problem, and Florida changed the law on it significantly in the last two years. Before 2024, an owner who found an unauthorized occupant in a residential property generally had to go through the civil eviction process — the same process used for an actual tenant — even where the occupant had no lease at all. That changed with House Bill 621, effective July 1, 2024, which created section 82.036, Florida Statutes, the limited alternative remedy to remove unauthorized persons from residential real property. Under that statute, an owner who can show the occupant is not a current or former tenant under any written or oral rental agreement, is not a family member, and has been directed to leave but refused, can submit a sworn complaint to the sheriff, who serves a notice to vacate and can arrest the occupant for trespass if they remain.

Also, HB 621 added criminal exposure directly, and it did so by amending existing fraud and mischief statutes rather than writing new crimes into section 82.036 itself. Making a false statement in writing to obtain real property, or knowingly presenting a falsified lease, deed, or other document purporting to convey property rights — the fake lease a squatter sometimes produces to look legitimate — is a first-degree misdemeanor under section 817.03, Florida Statutes. If the occupant intentionally causes $1,000 or more in damage while unlawfully detaining, occupying, or trespassing in the dwelling, that is a second-degree felony under section 806.13(4), Florida Statutes, the criminal mischief statute. Ordinary trespass also applies once the owner has withdrawn permission: under section 810.08, trespass in a structure is a second-degree misdemeanor, a first-degree misdemeanor if someone is present at the time, and a third-degree felony if the trespasser is armed. This is important because a squatting case can generate several charging paths at once — trespass, the section 817.03 or 806.13 offenses, and potentially theft or forgery counts if fake documents were used to justify the occupancy.

Adverse possession is not a defense a squatter can invoke against criminal liability. It is a civil doctrine that, under narrow conditions involving years of open, continuous possession and payment of property taxes, can eventually support a claim to title — it does not authorize breaking into a house and living there, and has no bearing on whether the entry or the refusal to leave was a crime.

What can a homeowner do if a fraudulent deed shows up in the public record?

A forged deed is void from the moment it is created — a forger cannot convey title they never had — so the true owner’s underlying ownership is not actually destroyed by the fraud. The practical problem is that the fraudulent deed still sits in the county’s official records and clouds the title, making it difficult or impossible to sell or refinance until the cloud is cleared. The standard civil remedy is a quiet title action under chapter 65, Florida Statutes. In general terms, the owner files suit asking the court to declare the fraudulent deed invalid and confirm title remains with the rightful owner; once the court enters final judgment, that judgment is recorded and the cloud is removed. Section 817.535 also creates a separate civil cause of action for anyone harmed by a falsely filed instrument, independent of whether criminal charges are ever filed.

Also, none of this forecloses criminal prosecution running in parallel. The civil quiet title case restores clean title; the criminal case addresses the person who committed the fraud. A homeowner who discovers a fraudulent deed should expect to need both — a police report, and civil counsel to clear the title.

What should someone accused in one of these cases actually do?

These cases are charged aggressively because the dollar values involved — a house rather than a purse or a car — push almost every count into felony territory, often first-degree felony territory once the value clears $100,000. That also means these cases tend to stack: theft, uttering a forged instrument, filing a false instrument under 817.535, and criminal use of personal identification information can all arise from the same document. Each charge has its own elements the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt. For uttering, the State must prove both that the instrument was actually false, altered, or forged, and that the person who presented it knew that and intended to injure or defraud someone. A weakness in proving intent, knowledge, or the chain of who actually created and recorded the document can be the difference between a conviction and a dismissal on any one of these counts. Anyone contacted by law enforcement or served with a complaint involving a deed, a title dispute, or an occupancy fight should get counsel involved before answering any questions, given how easily these facts get characterized as fraud even where a legitimate ownership dispute exists.

Legally reviewed by Tonmiel Rodriguez · Last reviewed July 2026

Tonmiel Rodriguez is Board Certified in Criminal Trial Law by The Florida Bar and represents clients facing theft, fraud, and property-crime charges throughout Polk, Highlands, Hardee, Osceola, and Hillsborough Counties. If you have been accused of deed fraud, forgery, or a property-related theft offense — or you are a homeowner dealing with a fraudulent deed or a squatter who won’t leave — call The Rodriguez Law Office at (863) 774-4556.