Atlanta property owner is left exasperated after THIRTY squatters take over his land – with one freeloader even suing him for $190,000 – as he begs for them to leave so he can build affordable housing

A man who owns real estate in Atlanta is at his wits’ end with the people who have been living on his land for years without his permission.

David Morris, who now lives in California, says squatters have been living on his property in southeast Atlanta since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it’s been an uphill battle to move them elsewhere.

While as many as thirty unwanted residents once lived on his property, the number Morris deals with today is eight.

David Perrie, his attorney, said Morris was served with a warrant last week.

The injunction is an order that a landlord must obtain when attempting to terminate a tenant’s title to the property when the tenant refuses to vacate the premises.

Morris says he now plans to install fencing to keep out unwanted visitors. The twist is that he also says he plans to convert the nine hectares of land into affordable housing for his residents.

A photo of Morris’ property while it was still home to his now-defunct nonprofit, the Lakewood Environmental Arts Foundation

‘We’re just going to build a big fence and a gate here, and put up a prohibition sign. “I’m not going to build it until all the tenants are gone,” he said. “You know, start cleaning this place up.”

He also told the local Fox connected that he had been contacted by local authorities with orders to clear the property, which had been left in a state of disrepair and disarray by the squatters.

‘It’s frustrating that I have to spend so much money. “I spent $10,000 cleaning up trash from vagrants,” he said.

The property in question is a rural nine-acre tract that was once home to Morris’ nonprofit Lakewood Environmental Arts Foundation.

About a decade ago, he says, he started letting four people live on the land without paying rent if they agreed to take care of the property.

But during the pandemic, he closed the nonprofit. However, around that time he realized that there were many more people living on the property than just the four he had originally agreed to rent for free.

He says he’s gotten into trouble because of the government’s lengthy COVID eviction moratorium.

‘The people who lived on the land let other people live on the land, their friends. I tried to file for an eviction, but the city of Atlanta said, ‘Sorry, we have a moratorium on evictions right now,'” he told the local newspaper.

Currently, Morris says there are still about eight people staying illegally on his property, some of whom he doesn’t know.

At least one person has filed a counterclaim against him for $190,000.

‘That was rejected, and that counterclaim, because they did not appear in court. So it will be, I predict, another thirty days before the marshals will call me to arrange a time when I can have five people here to move everything from there to the street,” he said.

The people Morris had agreed to let live on the land for free in exchange for maintaining the property decided they wouldn’t leave even after he closed the nonprofit.

Morris says he and his attorney are working to drive the remaining squatters off the land. Last week, he obtained a writ of possession – a court order needed to legally remove tenants who don’t want to leave the property

About a year ago, Morris — California at the time — says he got a call from someone telling him that Atlanta police had been near his property because of the “Stop Cop City” protests.

In the area, local activists campaigned against the construction of an Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.

More than twenty activists were eventually arrested by police.

Morris says the “entire medical staff of ‘Stop Cop City’ was camped on his land before authorities broke up the demonstration.”

“There were about 30 campers and the police came in and pulled them out of their tents,” he said.

He added for good measure that he is not on either side of that particular conflict.

“I’m neutral, yes, I’m not on either side,” he said, noting he has no political ties to the situation.