DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Seven months after the Georgia Squatter Reform Act became the law of the land, some homeowners are still encountering hurdles in getting squatting cases handled criminally.
A homeowner on Janjolin Way in DeKalb County told Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Justin Gray that squatters moved into his property while he was mid-renovation. When he called DeKalb County police, the alleged squatters provided documents claiming they were the rightful owners and DeKalb police referred the case to civil court instead of citing anyone criminally.
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State Representative Devan Seabaugh, the bill’s sponsor, says that’s exactly the type of confusion the Squatter Reform Act was designed to prevent.
“It’s a confusing process, but we tried to clarify that,” Seabaugh said. “It’s criminal what these folks are doing. They’re taking somebody’s property illegally.”
The new law came after a series of Channel 2 Action News investigations exposed the loophole squatters were taking advantage of.
Many law enforcement agencies, when presented with two sets of paperwork, referred the matter to civil eviction court.
But under the new law, suspected squatters are supposed to immediately be issued a criminal citation and have three days to present a lease. If that lease is fraudulent, the case goes from a misdemeanor to a felony.
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In this case, a spokesperson for DeKalb County says since there were two different police incident reports filed with two different people claiming ownership, they consider it a civil matter, not a criminal one.
A DeKalb County spokesperson says “An owner may pursue an ‘ejection of squatters’ through the Georgia Squatter Reform Act which covers ejections through a process with law enforcement officials. Squatting is now unlawful.”
The homeowner filed an intruder affidavit, and the suspected squatter also provided the court paperwork which he says provides proof of his ownership.
Seabaugh says he is open to looking at tweaks to the law in the upcoming legislative session.
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