Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling last June allowing localities to ban outdoor camping even if there is no homeless shelter space available, some 150 cities in 32 states have passed or strengthened such ordinances.
Another 40 local bans are pending, according to the National Homelessness Law Center. The measures vary in detail, but they typically include prohibitions on camping, sleeping or storing property on public land. Many also include buffer zones near schools, parks or businesses. Bans often allow for steep fines and jail time. In Indio, Calif., people caught camping illegally could face a penalty of up to $1,000 and up to six months in jail. The ordinance in Fresno, Calif., bans sitting, lying, sleeping or camping on public property any time, with a penalty of up to a year in jail. Elmira, N.Y., includes sleeping in vehicles in its camping ban. Housing advocates and experts anticipate the surge in camping bans to continue in 2025. Supporters of the bans argue that homeless encampments endanger nearby residents and businesses. Critics say the prohibitions criminalize visible street homelessness and move it somewhere else. “The idea behind anti-camping laws is to make homelessness so uncomfortable that people won’t want to experience it. But homelessness is already incredibly uncomfortable, especially during disasters,” said Samantha Batko of the Urban Institute. “Criminalizing homelessness doesn’t solve the problem — it just punishes people, makes it harder for them to find housing or jobs, and keeps them stuck in a cycle of instability.”
California has the highest number of camping bans, with more than 40 ordinances either passed or introduced since July. It also has about 30% of the nation’s homeless people, followed by New York, Florida and Washington state, according to a 2022 U.S. Housing and Urban Development report. California Gov. Gavin Newsom invested heavily in encampment clearance and housing, allocating $131 million to municipalities after the high court ruling. He also ordered cities to “urgently address homeless encampments.” Florida’s updated law, passed last year, requires counties and municipalities to ban sleeping or camping in public spaces such as parks, sidewalks and the state’s many beaches. Many local governments scrambled to put local ordinances in place to comply with the law. Residents and business owners have the right to sue municipalities if local efforts to address homelessness are deemed insufficient. The state has around 31,000 homeless residents The rise in anti-camping ordinances after the court ruling was a predictable outcome, even in cities that have no other options for people who don’t have homes, said Jesse Rabinowitz of the National Homelessness Law Center. “A large misconception is that people choose to experience homelessness. But no one chooses to sleep outside. People are forced into homelessness because elected officials fail to ensure safe and affordable housing,” said Rabinowitz. “Making cities inhospitable to force people to leave has been tried before. It’s expensive, ineffective, and only prolongs homelessness.”
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