{"id":268958,"date":"2026-04-28T00:06:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T00:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/268958\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T00:06:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T00:06:08","slug":"corpus-christi-fire-linked-to-squatting-raises-awareness-of-new-texas-anti-squatter-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/268958\/","title":{"rendered":"Corpus Christi fire linked to squatting raises awareness of new Texas anti-squatter laws"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A Corpus Christi fire tied to suspected squatters highlights new Texas laws allowing faster removals and quicker eviction timelines for property owners.<\/p>\n<p>CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas \u2014 A vacant Corpus Christi property with reported squatting activity went up in flames Sunday, renewing concerns about illegal occupancy \u2014 and what neighbors can do when they spot it.<\/p>\n<p>RELATED: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kiiitv.com\/article\/news\/local\/neighbors-demand-action-after-flour-bluff-fires\/503-6921abc5-e04e-4e99-94bc-62548d06308d\" class=\"cms__embed-related-story__link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">&#8216;It just happened so fast&#8217;: Neighbors demand action after Flour Bluff fires<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Fire raises concerns about vacant homes<\/p>\n<p>Corpus Christi firefighters quickly knocked down a blaze at a home on Chestnut Street near Gollihar and Carroll lanes. No injuries were reported, but the incident has drawn attention after a neighbor\u2019s security camera appeared to capture someone entering the property multiple times in the days leading up to the fire.<\/p>\n<p>Experts say that kind of activity is enough to warrant contacting law enforcement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s no reason to sit back. Let someone know,\u201d said Arnold Gonzales Jr., a local landlord-tenant attorney.<\/p>\n<p>RELATED: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kiiitv.com\/article\/news\/local\/repeated-fires-in-flour-bluff-highlight-safety-concerns-lack-of-city-abatement-funding\/503-8b3b467b-1538-41e4-8a62-1aba0e35e362\" class=\"cms__embed-related-story__link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Repeated fires in Flour Bluff highlight safety concerns, lack of city abatement funding<\/a><\/p>\n<p>New Texas laws aim to speed up removals<\/p>\n<p>Gonzales says situations like this are often tied to abandoned or mismanaged properties \u2014 but two new Texas laws could make dealing with squatters faster and more straightforward.<\/p>\n<p>Under Senate Bill 1333, law enforcement can now remove unauthorized occupants from a property without going through the traditional eviction process, as long as proper notice to vacate is given.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have an immediate ability to contact the sheriff or the constable, make an application \u2014 the application\u2019s in the statute \u2014 and ask them to immediately remove the squatter,\u201d Gonzales said.<\/p>\n<p>He called the process \u201cexpedited,\u201d but cautioned property owners to follow the law carefully.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf they don\u2019t do it right, there are consequences for wrongfully removing someone from the property,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>A faster timeline for evictions<\/p>\n<p>A second measure, Senate Bill 38, applies when eviction is still required. The law mandates courts act on eviction cases within 10 to 21 days \u2014 a significant shift from what Gonzales says could previously take years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWithout this new law, you would have to go through some form of eviction process,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you know how to game the system, you can stay there for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If residents suspect a nearby property is being occupied illegally, Gonzales recommends reporting it and looking up ownership through county property records.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe county clerk is a very user-friendly website to search public records for who owns it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>As incidents like Sunday\u2019s fire highlight the risks tied to vacant properties, officials and legal experts say awareness \u2014 and the new laws \u2014 could help communities respond more quickly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Corpus Christi fire tied to suspected squatters highlights new Texas laws allowing faster removals and quicker eviction&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":268959,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[155,157,156],"class_list":["post-268958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-corpus-christi","tag-corpus-christi","tag-corpus-christi-headlines","tag-corpus-christi-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268958\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/268959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}