Amends existing law to revise a provision regarding a fee for service.

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Sixty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2026 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 695 BY JUDICIARY, RULES AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE AN ACT1 RELATING TO FORCIBLE ENTRY AND UNLAWFUL DETAINER; AMENDING SECTION 6-310A,2 IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE A PROVISION REGARDING A FEE FOR SERVICE; AND3 DECLARING AN EMERGENCY AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.4

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:5

SECTION 1. That Section 6-310A, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby6 amended to read as follows:7 6-310A. LIMITED ALTERNATIVE REMEDY TO REMOVE UNAUTHORIZED PERSONS8 FROM RESIDENTIAL REAL PROPERTY. (1) The legislature finds that the right9 to exclude others from entering, and the right to direct others to immedi-10 ately vacate, residential real property are the most important real property11 rights. The legislature further finds that existing remedies regarding12 unauthorized persons who unlawfully remain on residential real property13 fail to adequately protect the rights of the property owner and fail to ad-14 equately discourage theft and vandalism. The intent of this section is to15 quickly restore possession of residential real property to the lawful owner16 of the property when the property is being unlawfully occupied and to thereby17 preserve property rights while limiting the opportunity for criminal activ-18 ity.19 (2) A property owner or the owner's authorized agent may request from20 the sheriff of the county in which the property is located the immediate21 removal of a person or persons unlawfully occupying a residential dwelling22 pursuant to this section if all of the following conditions are met:23 (a) The requesting person is the property owner or authorized agent of24 the property owner;25 (b) The real property that is being occupied includes a residential26 dwelling;27 (c) An unauthorized person or persons have unlawfully entered and re-28 main or continue to reside on the property owner's property;29 (d) The real property was not open to members of the public at the time30 the unauthorized person or persons entered;31 (e) The property owner has directed the unauthorized person to leave32 the property;33 (f) The unauthorized person or persons are not current or former ten-34 ants pursuant to a written or oral rental agreement authorized by the35 property owner;36 (g) The unauthorized person or persons are not immediate family members37 of the property owner; and38 (h) There is no pending litigation related to the real property between39 the property owner and any known unauthorized person.40 (3) To request the immediate removal of an unlawful occupant of a res-41 idential dwelling, the property owner or the owner's authorized agent must42

2 submit a complaint by presenting a completed and verified "Complaint to Re-1 move Persons Unlawfully Occupying Residential Real Property" to the sheriff2 of the county in which the real property is located. The submitted complaint3 must be in substantially the following form:4 COMPLAINT TO REMOVE PERSONS UNLAWFULLY OCCUPYING5 RESIDENTIAL REAL PROPERTY6 I, the owner or authorized agent of the owner of the real property7 located at......, declare under the penalty of perjury that (ini-8 tial each box):9 1..... I am the owner of the real property or the authorized agent10 of the owner of the real property.11 2..... I purchased the property on.....12 3..... The real property is a residential dwelling.13 4..... An unauthorized person or persons have unlawfully entered14 and are remaining or residing unlawfully on the real property.15 5..... The real property was not open to members of the public at16 the time the unauthorized person or persons entered.17 6..... I have directed the unauthorized person or persons to leave18 the real property, but they have not done so.19 7..... The person or persons are not current or former tenants pur-20 suant to any valid lease authorized by the property owner, and any21 lease that may be produced by an occupant is fraudulent.22 8..... The unauthorized person or persons sought to be removed are23 not owners or co-owners of the property and have not been listed on24 the title to the property unless the person or persons have engaged25 in title fraud.26 9..... The unauthorized person or persons are not immediate family27 members of the property owner.28 10..... There is no litigation related to the real property pending29 between the property owner and any person sought to be removed.30 11..... I understand that a person or persons removed from the31 property pursuant to this procedure may bring a cause of action32 against me for any false statements made in this complaint, or for33 wrongfully using this procedure, and that as a result of such action34 I may be held liable for actual damages, penalties, costs, and rea-35 sonable attorney's fees.36 12..... I am requesting the sheriff to immediately remove the unau-37 thorized person or persons from the residential property.38 13..... A copy of my valid government-issued identification is at-39 tached, or I am an agent of the property owner, and documents evi-40 dencing my authority to act on the property owner's behalf are at-41 tached.42 I HAVE READ EVERY STATEMENT MADE IN THIS PETITION AND EACH STATEMENT43 IS TRUE AND CORRECT. I UNDERSTAND THAT THE STATEMENTS MADE IN THIS44 PETITION ARE BEING MADE UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY.45 ...(Signature of Property Owner or Agent of Owner)...46 (4) Upon receipt of the complaint, the sheriff shall verify that the47 person submitting the complaint is the record owner of the real property or48 the authorized agent of the owner and appears otherwise entitled to relief49 pursuant to the provisions of this section. If verified, the sheriff shall,50

3 without delay, serve a notice to immediately vacate on all the unlawful occu-1 pants and shall put the owner in possession of the real property. Service may2 be accomplished by hand delivery of the notice to an occupant or by posting3 the notice on the front door or entrance of the dwelling. The sheriff shall4 also attempt to verify the identities of all persons occupying the dwelling5 and note the identities on the return of service. If appropriate, the sher-6 iff may arrest any person found in the dwelling for trespass, outstanding7 warrants, or any other legal cause.8 (5) The sheriff is entitled to the same fee for service of the notice9 to immediately vacate as if the sheriff were serving a writ of possession10 restitution. After the sheriff serves the notice to immediately vacate, the11 property owner or authorized agent may request that the sheriff stand by to12 keep the peace while the property owner or agent of the owner changes the13 locks and removes the personal property of the unlawful occupants from the14 premises to or near the property line. When such a request is made, the sher-15 iff may charge a reasonable hourly rate, and the person requesting the sher-16 iff to stand by and keep the peace is responsible for paying the reasonable17 hourly rate set by the sheriff. The sheriff is not liable to the unlawful oc-18 cupant or any other party for loss, destruction, or damage of property. The19 property owner or the owner's authorized agent is not liable to an unlawful20 occupant or any other party for the loss, destruction, or damage to the per-21 sonal property unless the removal was wrongful.22 (6) A person may bring a civil cause of action for wrongful removal un-23 der this section. A person harmed by a wrongful removal under this section24 may be restored to possession of the real property and may recover actual25 costs and damages incurred, statutory damages equal to triple the fair mar-26 ket rent of the dwelling, court costs, and reasonable attorney's fees. The27 court shall advance the cause on the calendar.28 (7) The provisions of this section shall not limit the rights of a prop-29 erty owner or limit the authority of a law enforcement officer to arrest an30 unlawful occupant for trespassing, vandalism, theft, or other crimes.31

SECTION 2. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby32 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after33 July 1, 2026.34