Georgia is one of the states that has increased penalties for squatters and made the process of evicting squatters faster for homeowners.
The Georgia Squatter Reform Act was signed by Governor Brian Kemp in April 2024. Part of this law makes illegal occupation a criminal offense and speeds up the eviction process in illegal occupation cases.
“Unfortunately, the bad guys have figured out how to take advantage of this and actually abuse the process that goes through local government. So we're going to sign right after this interview to increase the penalties. We are passing a bill to go after these people to expedite the eviction process, while also allowing property owners to go after squatters for damages,'' Kemp previously said. He said this while discussing the bill on “Fox & Friends.”
In Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp signed the Georgia Squatter Reform Act in April 2024, tightening laws against squatters. (St. Petersburg)
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“This is outrageous. It means people think they can just break in and take over someone's home. I mean, it's outrageous,” Kemp said.
The signing of Georgia's law comes on the heels of Gov. Ron DeSantis signing similar legislation in Florida a month ago.
Asked about how Georgia's bill is similar to Florida's, Kemp said, “I'm sure it's pretty much the same, just using legal authority to move the process along.” “I mean, it's insane that something like that would even happen in the first place. But when you can't kick these people off your property, as a property owner myself, I don't think we should do it.” It's crazy in the world right now, and Governor DeSantis won't put up with it, and we won't put up with it,” Kemp said.
The bill's sponsor, U.S. Rep. Devan Thiebaud of Marietta, spoke to Fox 5 Atlanta about the Squatter Reform Act and how it could help trials move more quickly.
“What we've done with this bill is it will go to magistrate court, which is a non-jury trial, to expedite it,” Thiebaud said in March 2024.
Georgia's Squatter Reform Act has helped, in part, to speed up the trial of cases brought to court. (St. Petersburg)
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“If they present you with a lease, you have three days to file that lease with the court, and the court has three days to decide whether it's a valid lease or a fake lease. We have seven days,” he told the media.
Georgia has seen an increase in the number of squatting lawsuits brought to court in recent years, with the number of squatting lawsuits on the rise starting in 2019, according to a report by the Pacific Law Foundation.
Kyle Sweetland, research manager at the Pacific Legal Foundation, previously told Fox News Digital that Georgia's “centralized records system” was used to collect the data.
“Georgia has specific statutes related to squatting, and we were able to actually look and confirm that these cases are actually dealing with squatters,” Sweetland previously told FOX He told News Digital.
Although data on illegal occupation cases is limited, a study conducted by the Pacific Law Foundation found that the number of court cases related to illegal occupation has increased since 2019. (St. Petersburg)
“I think this is a very rough estimate, but it gives us an accurate estimate of what kinds of lawsuits are being filed about squatters in these states on a broader level. Sweetland said he pulled data from 25 Georgia states. 159 counties.
California squatting law allows for potential occupancy after 30 days in a property.
Other laws related to illegal occupancy cases include the Unlawful Occupation Act. Just as each state has its own laws regarding adverse possession situations, each state has its own requirements that must be met for adverse possession to be considered.
Adverse possession occurs when an individual takes possession of property owned by another person if certain requirements are met.
According to FindLaw.com, Georgia's unlawful possession law requires individuals to occupy a property for 20 years before they can claim it. If the title color is privately owned, this timeline is reduced to seven years.
The state's adverse possession law is set forth in Code Section 44-5-161, which requires that a person's possession be “public, continuous, exclusive, uninterrupted, and peaceful; accompanied by.”
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Squatter possession has often been used interchangeably with “squatter rights.”
