House Bill 2378, the “removal of squatters act,” would allow the owner of a dwelling unit or the owner’s agent to submit an affidavit to the county sheriff requesting removal of an unauthorized occupant. A Revisor from the Statutes Office summarized the bill’s key elements: the affidavit must show the person is not a tenant or holdover tenant, the sheriff must verify the filer’s status as owner or agent, wait at least 24 hours from receipt, and then serve notice by hand or by posting; the sheriff may arrest for trespass or other crimes if warranted and may charge up to $50 to process the affidavit.

Sponsor Representative Will Carpenter said the bill is intended to provide an expedited tool for property owners who face situations where people take up residence in vacant houses and cannot be removed through the standard eviction process in a timely way. “This is an expedited way of getting people that have no right, no legal right to be in the house whatsoever,” Carpenter said, noting examples reported in other states and saying the bill is a preemptive measure.

Mark Toome, vice president of government affairs for the Kansas Association of Realtors, testified in support and said members want a law‑enforcement pathway outside the landlord‑tenant eviction process for people who have no legal relationship to a property. He said the bill includes safeguards and penalties for false affidavits.

Sheriff Jeff Easter of the Kansas Sheriffs Association testified remotely in a neutral capacity and recommended several changes before the committee considers passage. He urged adding a notarization requirement for the affidavit so false filings could carry criminal penalties, clarifying the definition of “immediate family member,” and expanding the enforcement language so any law enforcement agency (not only county sheriffs) could act. “As you see, we've come in neutral,” Easter said, and added that judicial review of the process should be considered because the statute currently provides no express pre‑trial review.

Members asked whether the bill applies only to vacant dwellings (it does) and how the measure would interact with the Landlord Tenant Act and with domestic‑violence or other civil situations; sponsors and proponents said the measure is intended for people with no legal right to occupy the property and not for cases governed by landlord‑tenant law or family disputes. The committee received multiple written submissions, took oral testimony and did not record a committee vote at the hearing.