The Atlanta region has seen an alarming surge in the number of squatters occupying vacant homes over the past year.
Some estimates suggest that as many as 1,200 properties have been seized by unauthorized inhabitants.
The process of legally evicting these unwelcome guests is a tedious and lengthy one. With the court system already overwhelmed with a backlog of cases, several homeowners have resorted to self-help measures to encourage the squatters to vacate.
The New York Post has reported that while some of these illegal occupants are merely impoverished families seeking shelter, others have more nefarious intentions.
In a notable incident in October, four squatters in South Fulton were apprehended after it was discovered that they had established an illicit strip club in the property they had commandeered. The culprits, identified as Jeremy Wheat, Kelvin Hall, DeAnthony Maddox, and Tarahsjay Forde, had taken over a spacious 5-bedroom, 3-bathroom home on Wewatta Street and swiftly converted it into an unlawful enterprise. The group reportedly hosted raucous parties and car races on the residential street, much to the chagrin of their neighbors.
In a similar incident reported by FOX5 in the same month, a homeowner in Tucker, who had been unsuccessful in evicting squatters from his property, witnessed the US Marshals Fugitive Task Force apprehend one of the men. It was later revealed that the man was a convicted sex offender and was on the run from the authorities.
According to Bloomberg, Atlanta is the largest market in the country for institutional landlords, with an estimated 72,000 homes in the region owned and rented out by large corporations. Corporate executives have voiced concerns that the escalating squatting issue could jeopardize the safety of neighborhoods in which they have invested, and ultimately impact their profits.
However, it is the regular homeowners who have been most severely affected. With law enforcement often powerless to intervene, they are frequently left with no alternative but to comply with the squatters' demands and pay them to vacate.
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