Squatters cleared from Ogeechee Farms home after auction sale

CHATHAM COUNTY, Ga. — A home in the Ogeechee Farms neighborhood that had been overtaken by squatters after the owner died has been completely cleared of all people living there illegally.

The house had been occupied by squatters after the property owner died in 2017. Police had no legal way to remove the squatters due to a loophole in Georgia law.

WTOC Investigates previously reported that neighbors in the Ogeechee Farms area were fed up as squatters had overtaken two homes on the block. Residents complained about drug activity, people coming and going at all hours, and declining property values.

READ: Loophole in Georgia law allows squatters to remain in homes with dead owners

Legal complications prevented removal

The Squatter Reform Act was signed into law in Georgia last year. It makes squatting a misdemeanor offense and gives law enforcement the power to issue citations and remove squatters within three days if they have a signed affidavit from the owner of the property.

None of that is possible if the owner of a home is dead.

The Chatham County Police Department had made seven calls for service to the property over three months, including visits from the department’s Homeless Liaison Officer. Some of the squatters had been living there for years and had even paid property taxes in the past, though taxes had not been paid for about two years.

Resolution through auction

The home has now been sold at auction and everyone has been removed from the property. The Chatham County Police Department says people who were living there have moved in with family, friends, or to shelters.

“We were able to kind of mitigate that entire situation, get people the resources that they needed, get the neighborhood back to where- the neighbors were complainants because of the activity around homelessness and some of the activity that brings,” said Chief Jeff Hadley of the Chatham County Police Department. “We didn’t have to make any arrests, we didn’t have to write any citations. We utilized the resources at our disposal and the process worked the way it should’ve worked.”

CCPD says everyone who was living at the house has been banned from the property.

The loophole does still remain in Georgia law but cannot be fixed until the legislative session starts in January.