Six squatters arrested after new Georgia law takes effect

Policy

The squatters were able to move back into the home later that night once they made bond. Two of the squatters received felony charges and the other four were charged with trespassing.

The law against squatting passed in Georgia provides that individuals accused of squatting must present documentation authorizing their presence at the property to local law enforcement within three business days. File Image.

Six squatters who had occupied a vacant home were arrested last week in Atlanta, Georgia, but moved back into the property only hours after they made bond and left jail.

Several instances of homeowners facing lengthy legal processes to remove squatters or themselves receiving sanctions for attempting to secure their property have garnered national attention in recent months, prompting Georgia and other states to increase penalties against squatting. The legislation was used to detain a group of squatters who occupied a vacant home in South Fulton, Georgia, as well as stole a car from a neighbor and broke into nearby homes.

Local news captured images of police detaining a group of men who were seated on the sidewalk in handcuffs. Mel Keyton, the president of the local Homeowners Association, told reporters that the ringleader was seen “walking his dog all the time” and was “very courteous and polite,” yet the group of squatters presented various dangers to the community. Beyond the car theft and illegal entries, the squatters used their amenities without permission.

Despite the passage of the law, however, the squatters were able to move back into the home later that night once they made bond. Two of the squatters received felony charges and the other four were charged with trespassing. They started squatting in the home on Christmas Day.

“We have to get the police back involved, the city of South Fulton back involved, and we'll go through the same process again because they are trespassing,” Keyton commented to the media. “They are already aware that the property is supposed to be vacant.”

Atlanta has experienced the highest rate of squatting incidents among other metropolitan areas in the country, with more than 1,200 homes recently dealing with squatters.

Florida also enacted a law which allows property owners to “immediately remove a squatter” as long as the individual unlawfully entered and remains on the property, was directed to leave the property by the owner, and is not a current or former tenant in a legal dispute.