3am Evictions Will Become Illegal In DeKalb County

This past Tuesday Chris Frazer and community allies introduced a proposal that would not only make 3am evictions illegal in DeKalb County, it would also force more accountability on banks and investors to ensure the safety and dignity of folks facing eviction.

Know one know's the issue of inhumane eviction like Chris Frazer, who had her home raided by 40 armed DeKalb County deputies at 3am earlier this year. The Sheriff came with animal control for her pets, but had no where for her, her 86 year old mother, and 3 year old son to go. Chris is committed to fight against this inhumane behavior until it no longer a legal option for law enforcement to disregard basic decency.

We would like to encourage you to call Commissioner Larry Johnson( 404 371-2425) and Commissioner Stan Watson (  404-371-3681) and encourage them to pass this simple resolution.

Below is the text of the policy:

The people of Dekalb County are facing a depression era housing crisis. Sadly, there is a need to protect citizens from unscrupulous behavior with regard to evictions. This effort is designed to prevent landlords from placing tenants in harm’s way by evicting them at hours when they would be unable to obtain a means of securing their belongings after the eviction or obtaining permanent and/or temporary housing due to the hours of eviction.

This proposal would make it illegal to evict a tenant between the hours of 5:00PM and 9:00AM.

We also propose that landlords must meet the following basic criteria when moving forward with an eviction.

1.  The landlord must have an order of eviction from the appropriate court.

2.  The landlord must have a permit issued by a designated agency and/or court within Dekalb County. The landlord would be responsible for the cost, if any, of obtaining such a permit.

3.  There must be a certified law enforcement officer present during such eviction, the costs of which are the responsibility of the landlord. The name of the officer and their certification must accompany the permit application.

4.  Prior to obtaining such a permit, the landlord will:

           

a.  Provide a pre-paid storage facility capable of holding furniture for the number of rooms at the residence where the eviction is to occur. In other words, if the residence is a 3 bedroom, the storage facility will be capable of securing a 3 bedroom residence. The storage facility will be within 5 miles of the residence where the eviction is taking place.

                 

b.  Provide a pre-paid moving truck capable of moving the contents of the residence in one trip.

                 

c.  Provide at minimum a prepaid 3 star hotel room for a period of not less than 36 hours.

                 

                 

                 

These measures shouldn’t be considered radical notions, as they are already points of policy for other parts of the country.