Niamh Shackleton
A man says he returned home from caring for his sick wife to find his property had been taken over by squatters.
Paul Callins, from DeKalb, Georgia, alleges that the locks on his home were changed by squatters and he's since been unable to get into the house.
Apparently Callins came home on Friday (March 1) to check on his rental property that he believed was vacant only to discover three people living there.
Callins inherited the property from his late father, who died three years ago due to cancer, and had spent thousands of dollars renovating it to rent to government subsidised tenants.
He advertised online that he was looking for tenants to live in the eight-bedroom home, which is how Callins thinks the alleged squatters learned that it was empty.
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Upon discovering the people living in his home, Callins called the police - but they were presented with that he says is a fake lease.
Speaking to WSB-TV about the situation, he said: "Basically, these people came in Friday, broke into my house and had a U-Haul move all their stuff in.
"It’s frustrating. It’s very frustrating. I can’t even sleep."
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In light of the three supposed squatters allegedly having a fake lease, he believes it isn't the first time they've done this.
"I guess they have done this before, because when I called the police, they said since they have a fake lease, that they can’t do anything," he said.
Police have now said it's a civil matter in the state of Georgia.
With this in mind, Callins now has to go through the court system to evict the unwanted tenants - which he says could take up to 90 days.
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While situations like these are currently seen a civil matter in Georgia, according to WSB-TV, the state lawmakers are 'close to passing a new law that will allow police to arrest squatters for trespassing'.
Fake leases will also be made illegal.
Rep. Devan Seabaugh, a Republican co-sponsoring the Georgia Squatter Reform Act (HB 1017), told Fox News Digital last month: "These are people that know exactly what they're doing, and they're stealing other people's most valuable capital, which is their home. I've heard from a lot of people.
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"This has caused them to file bankruptcy. They're mentally harmed by it. It's a tough situation, and we have to do something.
"I don't know how it took us this long to get here... but no more free rides."
