A handyman-turned-squatter hunter said squatting laws need to be reclassified as an invasion or “terrorist act” as unwanted residents continue to wreak havoc on Atlanta-area houses, turning homes into drug and prostitution dens.
“If we were to criminalize it, that would enable us to send in the National Guard to sweep that whole neighborhood and get those 1,200 houses clear,” Flash Shelton, founder of the United Handyman Association and SquatterHunters.com, told Fox News.
“That’s what needs to be done,” he added. “If we don’t stop it, it’s going to get worse.”
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Atlanta is facing a squatting crisis worse than any other metro area in the country, with around 1,200 homes being taken over, according to the National Rental Home Council trade group. Homeowners have few options to reclaim their property from unwanted residents as local law enforcement are bound by tenant rights laws. Pursuing a civil case can take many months.
“My advice to the Atlanta property owners would be the same as they would to any property owner,” Shelton said. “First of all, know your laws, know your rights and think safely. This is your house, I understand that, but this is property, and it’s not worth your life.”
He said homeowners can get arrested trying to evict squatters due to the complexity of squatters’ rights laws. He advises people to always first call local law enforcement.
“As soon as law enforcement says there’s nothing we can do, then I would say reach out to me or someone like me because there are alternatives besides spending a year in civil court,” Shelton said.
The California handyman had his first experience removing squatters last year when two women took over his mother’s home in Simi Valley. She’d put up the property for sale following Shelton’s father’s death.
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After local law enforcement couldn’t help, Shelton…
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