Squatters are ruining entire neighborhoods in Atlanta and police response to evict is so slow, some homeowners have resorted to paying nuisances to leave.
Brazen squatters even opened an illegal strip club on a property they had taken over — one of the 1,200 homes which has been squatted in the city, according to the National Rental Home Council (NRHC) trade group.
“I’d be terrified in Atlanta to lease out one of my properties,” Matt Urbanski, who manages a local home-cleaning company, told Bloomberg.
Urbanski’s company cleans out homes for corporate landlords, and in some cases has to remove squatters’ possessions.
Recently one of his employees was shot after attempting to remove intruders from a property.
Simon Frost, CEO of large-scale landlord Tiber Capital Group, said there have been incidents of unlawful occupants brandishing weapons and threatening neighbors, which affects the safety of neighborhoods and other residents, according to Bloomberg.
Evicting squatters in Atlanta is tough, involving negotiating court backlogs and strained police resources.
Meanwhile, online listings and virtual real estate agents make it easy for squatters to identify vacant properties to break into.
