Squatters do not gain any rights after 30 days in Georgia. No provision of the Georgia Code turns an uninvited occupant into a protected tenant at the 30-day mark, or at any other day count. What matters under Georgia law is whether the property owner consented to the occupancy in the first place. If there was consent but no written lease, the person may be a tenant at will and removing them takes a 60-day written notice under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-7. If there was no consent, the Georgia Squatter Reform Act of 2024 lets law enforcement act in a matter of days.
Where the 30-Day Myth Comes From
The number traces back to O.C.G.A. § 44-7-7, which sets notice periods for ending a tenancy at will. That statute requires a tenant to give the landlord 30 days’ notice before leaving, and requires the landlord to give the tenant 60 days’ notice before ending the arrangement.1Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-7 – Tenancy at Will – Notice Required for Termination Somewhere along the way, people read the 30-day figure and assumed it worked in reverse: stay 30 days and you become a tenant. That is not what the statute says. Tenant status in Georgia depends on the owner’s consent, not on the calendar.
How Georgia Classifies the Person on Your Property
The removal path depends on which of three categories the occupant falls into. Getting the classification wrong can cost weeks.
A guest is someone you invited to stay temporarily. A guest has no independent right to the property and can be asked to leave at any time. If they refuse, law enforcement can remove them for trespassing.
A tenant at will is someone who lives on the property with the owner’s knowledge or consent but has no written lease or fixed term. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-6, when no time is specified for termination, the arrangement is treated as a tenancy at will.2Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-6 – Tenancy at Will A tenancy at will can form without any handshake agreement if the owner knew someone was living there and let it continue. This is where a family member who “just stayed a while,” a friend who never left the couch, or a former romantic partner often ends up.
An unauthorized occupant, in ordinary language a squatter, entered and lives on the property without the owner’s knowledge or consent and holds no lease or rental agreement. Since 2024, this person can be cited for the criminal offense of unlawful squatting.
Removing a Tenant at Will
If the person qualifies as a tenant at will, you cannot tell them to be out tomorrow. O.C.G.A. § 44-7-7 requires the landlord to serve 60 days’ written notice before the tenancy ends.1Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-7 – Tenancy at Will – Notice Required for Termination If the tenant refuses to leave after that period expires, the owner files a dispossessory proceeding in court. Skipping the notice or filing before the 60 days run gives the occupant an easy defense and forces you to start over.
Removing a Squatter Under the 2024 Reform Act
Georgia changed how it handles unauthorized occupants when Governor Kemp signed the Georgia Squatter Reform Act (House Bill 1017) on April 24, 2024. Before that law, owners dealing with squatters were largely stuck in the civil eviction process. The Reform Act created a criminal offense at O.C.G.A. § 16-7-21.1 aimed specifically at people who move into a property without the owner’s knowledge or consent.3Justia. Georgia Code 16-7-21.1 – Unlawful Squatting
Unlawful squatting is a misdemeanor. A conviction can result in a fine up to $1,000, up to 12 months in jail, or both.4Georgia General Assembly. Georgia Code HB 1017 – Squatter Reform Act The offense is distinct from ordinary criminal trespass under O.C.G.A. § 16-7-21, which covers entering property without authority but was not built for situations where someone has been living in a house for days or weeks.5Justia. Georgia Code 16-7-21 – Criminal Trespass
How the Citation Process Works
When a property owner reports suspected unlawful squatting, law enforcement investigates and, if the elements appear met, issues the occupant a citation. The occupant then has three business days to report to the head of the issuing agency, or a designee, and produce documentation showing a right to be there, such as a signed lease or rent receipts.3Justia. Georgia Code 16-7-21.1 – Unlawful Squatting
If no documentation appears within three days, the occupant faces arrest. If documentation is produced, a magistrate court hearing must take place within seven calendar days to test whether it is genuine. Legitimate paperwork means the citation is dismissed and the occupant stays. Fraudulent or improperly executed paperwork means removal, arrest, the standard misdemeanor penalties, and an additional fine tied to the property’s fair market monthly rental rate.3Justia. Georgia Code 16-7-21.1 – Unlawful Squatting
The Civil Dispossessory Route
The Reform Act’s criminal process works best when someone clearly moved in without permission. For tenants at will, holdover tenants, and situations where status is genuinely ambiguous, the civil dispossessory process under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-50 is the standard path.6Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-50 – Demand for Possession
You file a Dispossessory Affidavit with the Magistrate Court clerk in the county where the property sits. The affidavit needs your legal name, the property’s exact address, and the specific grounds for removal.7Georgia Magistrate Council. Dispossessory Affidavit A sheriff’s deputy serves the occupant, who then has seven days to answer.8Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-51 – Issuance of Summons; Service If no answer is filed, the court can enter default judgment on the eighth day. If the occupant answers, a hearing is scheduled. A judgment for the owner produces a writ of possession that becomes effective seven days after the judgment date, and the sheriff carries it out.9Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-55 – Judgment; Writ of Possession
What You Cannot Do
Changing the locks, shutting off utilities, or pulling out doors and windows to force someone out is illegal in Georgia regardless of whether the occupant has a lease. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-14.1, a landlord who knowingly cuts off cooling, heat, light, or water before a dispossessory proceeding is fully resolved faces a fine of up to $500 upon conviction.10Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-14.1 – Landlords Duties as to Utilities Self-help tactics also hand the occupant a counterclaim for damages and can delay the removal you were trying to speed up. Court-ordered process is the only lawful way.
What About Adverse Possession
Adverse possession is the doctrine people usually have in mind when they say “squatters’ rights,” and it is nowhere near a 30-day timeline. To claim ownership of Georgia property through adverse possession, the occupant must use the land in a way that is public, continuous, exclusive, uninterrupted, and peaceable for 20 years.11Justia. Georgia Code 44-5-161 – Adverse Possession; Effect of Permissive Possession12Justia. Georgia Code 44-5-163 – When Adverse Possession for 20 Years Confers Good Title The period drops to seven years if the occupant holds written evidence of title, such as a deed that looks valid but has a legal defect, and did not know the document was forged or fraudulent when they took possession.13Justia. Georgia Code 44-5-164 – When Adverse Possession for Seven Years Under Written Evidence of Title Confers Good Title
Every element carries weight. Public means the occupant is not concealing their use. Exclusive means they treat the property as their own and keep others out. Continuous and uninterrupted mean no meaningful gaps in occupancy across the full period. If the actual owner asserts their rights at any point, by demanding the person leave, filing suit, or entering the property, the clock resets. In practice, Georgia adverse possession claims almost always involve boundary disputes between neighbors, not someone who moved into a vacant house.