6 suspected squatters arrested outside $500K Atlanta home less than 2 weeks after new law criminalizing squatting took effect

Six suspected squatters were arrested outside an Atlanta-area home worth more than a half-million dollars — and thanks to a new law, they may soon be gone for good.

"This is the worst criminal activity I’ve ever seen in my life."

The house at 4300 Caveat Court in the Hampton Oaks neighborhood of South Fulton, Georgia, was supposed to be vacant. It's estimated worth, according to Zillow, is $518,400.

But on Christmas day 2023, several squatters allegedly took advantage of the vacant home and moved in as though they owned it. Neighbors knew no one should be living in the home, but there was little they could do about the alleged squatting because at the time, Georgia law treated squatting as a civil matter.

"The ringleader, we see him walking his dog all the time," said Hampton Oaks Homeowners Association vice president Kendra Snorton. "He's very courteous and polite when he interacts with the community."

However, the suspected squatters may have told on themselves when they allegedly broke into another home in the neighborhood while the owner was out of town, stole the owner's car, and parked it on the driveway of the home they'd been occupying, rent-free.

"When the police showed up, the car was behind us in the yard," said Hampton Oaks HOA president Mel Keyton. "That's how we put two and two together."

All six suspected squatters were arrested. Two were charged with felonies. The other four were charged with misdemeanor trespassing. The vehicle was returned to its rightful owner.

But the drama didn't end there. The suspected squatters then bonded out of jail and came back and broke into a neighborhood home within 24 hours, Keyton told Fox News, though whether they allegedly broke into the home they had been occupying or the home where they stole the car is unclear. Keyton said the suspects were quickly rearrested.

"This is the worst criminal activity I’ve ever seen in my life," said Keyton, who's running as a Democrat for the Georgia state House.

"It's dangerous," he added. "They use our amenities. They walk through the neighborhood. They break into houses."

Thankfully, on April 24, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law the Georgia Squatter Reform Act, which took effect immediately. The new law makes squatting in Georgia a misdemeanor criminal offense that can result in a $1,000 fine, a year behind bars, or both. The charge can even be elevated to a felony if a squatter were to forge documents to further the squatting scheme.

With some 1,200 homes in and around Atlanta inhabited by squatters, this new anti-squatting law gives hope to beleaguered residents.

"Hopefully, it won’t get this bad [again]," Keyton said. "Hopefully, we won’t have to use this amount of police."

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