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

An Atlanta property owner says he is at his wits' end with the people who have been living on his land for years without his permission.

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

While there was once as many as 30 unwanted occupants living on his property, the number Morris is dealing with today is eight. 

David Perrie, his attorney, said Morris was granted a Writ of Possession last week.

The court order is one a landlord must obtain when seeking to terminate a tenant's right to possession when the tenant refuses to vacate the premises.

Morris says he is now planning to install fencing to keep out unwanted visitors. The twist is that he also says he plans on turning the nine-acres of land into affordable housing for residents.

David Morris (right with his partner) says squatters have been living on his property in southeast Atlanta since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic

A shot of Morris' property while it was still home to his now-defunct non-profit, the Lakewood Environmental Arts Foundation

'We're going to build just a big fence here and a gate, and put no trespassing signs.

'I'm not going to build it until all of the tenants are out,' he said. 'You know, start getting this place cleaned up.' 

He also told the local Fox affiliate that he has been contacted by local authorities and told to clean up the property, which was left by the squatters in a state of decay and disarray.

'It's frustrating that I'm having to spend so much money. I spent $10,000 on cleaning up garbage from vagrants,' he said.

The property in question is a nine-acre, rural area that was once the home of Morris' non-profit, Lakewood Environmental Arts Foundation.

About a decade ago, he recounted, he began allowing four people to live on the land without paying rent, if they agreed to care for the property.

But during the pandemic, he shuttered the non-profit. Around that time, however, he realized far more people than just the four he'd originally agreed to host rent-free were living on the property.

He says he ran into trouble because of the government's long-term COVID eviction moratorium.

'The people who were living on the land started having other people live on the land, their friends. 

'I tried to file eviction, and the city of Atlanta said, ‘Sorry, we have a moratorium on evictions right now,' he told the local outlet.

At present, Morris says he still has about eight people illegally residing on his property - several of whom he does not know.

At least one person has filed a $190,000 counter-claim against him.

'That was dismissed, and that counter-claim, because they didn't show up in court. 

'So, it will take, I am predicting, another thirty days before the marshals will call me to schedule a time for me to 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 taking care of the property decided they weren't going to leave, even after he'd shuttered the non-profit

Morris says he and his attorney are closing in on being able to boot the remaining squatters from the land. Last week, he secured a Writ of Possession - a court order needed to legally remove tenants unwilling to vacate the premises

About a year ago, Morris - California at the time - says he got a call from someone who told him that the Atlanta police had been in the vicinity of his property because of the 'Stop Cop City' protests.

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

More than 20 activists were eventually detained by law enforcement.

Morris says that the 'entire medical staff of 'Stop Cop City'' was camped on his land before authorities broke up the demonstration.

'There was about thirty 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 specific conflict.

'I'm neutral, yeah, I'm not on either side,' he said, noting that he has no political ties to the situation.