DETROIT, MI -- New state laws against squatting went into effect last month, and City Council members want to make sure landowners and trespassers know it.

City Councilman Scott Benson earlier this year sought a city ordinance that would help property owners deal with trespassers who refuse to leave, and who were previously protected by laws that require a full eviction process.

But the council's lawyers advised members Monday that existing city trespassing laws and the new state legislation should help address the issue, suggesting, rather than an ordinance, a resolution to simply get the word out on laws that are already on the books.

"After we reviewed the state law, we recognized that the penalties imposed in the state law were far greater than anything the city can do. And the city already has an anti-trespassing law that would cover squatting," said David Whitaker, head of the council's research and analysis division, during a public health and safety committee meeting.

"So it was not necessary in our mind to draft a resolution, an ordinance that was specifically geared toward anti-squatting... This resolution, what it is designed to do is to simply alert the public that there is this state law out there that greatly enhances the penalties associated with folks who would squat or trespass in someone else's property without having first a legal right to be in the property to start with."

The state laws went into effect last month made squatting a crime punishable by up to 180 days behind bars and a $5,000 fine for the first offense, while making the second offense a felony punishable by 2 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

The legislation also made it easier for property owners to have squatters who forced their way into a property arrested, and to legally remove their property and change locks without having to go through the eviction court process --specifically in cases where the occupier took possession by force or trespass with no legal "possessor interest."

Council members had mixed feelings about the new laws.

"In some cases, it's good," said Council member Saunteel Jenkins about unchallenged squatters who live in and take care of homes that are entirely abandoned.

"There are some cases across the city where where there are people living in homes that would otherwise be abandoned, and they're actually doing things like cutting the grass and planting flowers and keeping their kids warm...

"And certainly we know there are cases where -- there was, the most egregious that I can remember, the lady who went on vacation for two weeks and came back and somebody moved into her house and was wearing her clothes. In those cases, certainly, we want the law to be on her side and for her to be able to reclaim her property. I think it's a complex issue, but people need to know what the laws are."

The full council will consider the awareness resolution next week.

"It allows for people to take notice of something that they might not have otherwise known existed," Whitaker said. "The laws have changed ont he state level... I'm afraid the people in the city may not be fully award of the consequences of such actions now."