from Debra Wathen
Chairman, Buckhead Council of Neighborhoods
"Dear Neighborhood Presidents and BCN Representatives,
I am passing along an important caution from our Zone 2’s Major Mitchell related to unoccupied houses including those for rent and for sale.  He is seeing an increase in the number of squatters in these houses.  They move in, change the locks, provide fake leases and then the process gets complicated.   In some cases  you must go through the long eviction process to get them out of the property.  
Please let your neighbors know to put NO TRESPASSING signs in the yard.   By doing this, you are giving them notice that they are not welcome.  It is easier to evict a trespasser than it is a squatter. Police can only remove a trespasser and cannot remove a squatter unless the proper civil court proceedings have taken place.  
If you have a squatter or trespasser on your property, notify the Atlanta Police Department right away and you should immediately serve squatters with an eviction notice.  Squatters, although on your property illegally, do have some rights like a tenant that pays rent.  

Here is a link to an article that talks about the eviction process of a squatter in Georgia.  "