Georgia law gives squatters no special rights after 30 days. No provision of the Georgia Code turns an uninvited occupant into a protected tenant at the one-month mark, and the “30 days” figure that circulates online misreads a different statute entirely. What matters in Georgia is not how long someone has been on your property but how they got there: whether you consented to the occupancy, whether any lease or informal arrangement exists, and whether the person entered without your knowledge at all.
Where the 30-Day Myth Comes From
The number traces back to O.C.G.A. § 44-7-7, which governs tenancies at will. That statute requires a tenant at will to give the landlord 30 days’ notice before leaving. People read the “30 days” and assume it works in reverse, as if staying 30 days somehow creates tenant status. It doesn’t. Whether someone qualifies as a tenant at will depends entirely on whether the owner consented to the occupancy, not on how many days have passed on the calendar.
The same statute requires the landlord to give 60 days’ notice before ending the tenancy.1Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-7 – Tenancy at Will – Notice Required for Termination That asymmetry has nothing to do with squatters.
How Georgia Classifies the Person on Your Property
The removal path depends on which category fits:
- Guest. 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.
- Tenant at will. Someone who occupies the property with the owner’s knowledge or consent but without a written lease or fixed term. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-6, when no time is specified for termination, the law treats the arrangement as a tenancy at will. This can arise even without a handshake deal, if the owner knew someone was living there and didn’t object.2Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-6 – Tenancy at Will
- Unauthorized occupant (squatter). Someone who entered and lives on the property without the owner’s knowledge or consent and has no lease or rental agreement. Since 2024, this person can be cited for the criminal offense of unlawful squatting.
A squatter who sits in a vacant house for 30, 60, or 90 days doesn’t drift upward into tenant status. Without the owner’s consent, the category never changes.
Removing an Unauthorized Occupant: The 2024 Reform Act
Georgia overhauled how it handles unauthorized occupants when Governor Kemp signed the Georgia Squatter Reform Act (House Bill 1017) on April 24, 2024. Before this law, owners dealing with squatters were largely stuck in civil eviction, which could take weeks. The Reform Act created a new criminal offense at O.C.G.A. § 16-7-21.1 aimed squarely 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 bring a fine up to $1,000, up to 12 months in jail, or both.4Georgia General Assembly. Georgia Code HB 1017 – Squatter Reform Act
When an 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 law enforcement agency (or a designee) and present documentation showing a right to be there, such as a signed lease or rent receipts.3Justia. Georgia Code 16-7-21.1 – Unlawful Squatting
No documentation within three days means arrest. If documents are produced, a magistrate court hearing must be held within seven calendar days to evaluate whether the paperwork is legitimate. Valid paperwork gets the citation dismissed. Fraudulent or improperly executed paperwork leads to 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
This process moves far faster than a civil eviction, but it only fits when the occupant clearly entered without permission.
Removing a Tenant at Will
If the person on your property crossed into tenant-at-will territory because you knowingly let them stay, you cannot tell them to be out tomorrow. O.C.G.A. § 44-7-7 requires 60 days’ written notice before the tenancy ends.1Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-7 – Tenancy at Will – Notice Required for Termination If they refuse to leave after the notice expires, the next step is a dispossessory proceeding under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-50 in the magistrate court for the county where the property sits.5Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-50 – Demand for Possession Skipping the notice or filing too early hands the occupant an easy defense and forces you to start over.
After a sheriff’s deputy serves the dispossessory summons, the occupant has seven days to answer.6Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-51 – Issuance of Summons; Service No answer, and the court can enter a default judgment for possession on the eighth day. If an answer comes in, the court sets a hearing. A judgment for the owner produces a writ of possession effective seven days after the judgment date, authorizing the sheriff to physically remove the occupant and their belongings.7Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-55 – Judgment; Writ of Possession
Don’t Change the Locks
Frustration tempts some owners to change locks, shut off utilities, or pull doors off hinges to force an occupant out. This 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.8Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-14.1 – Landlords Duties as to Utilities Self-help also hands the occupant a counterclaim for damages and often delays the removal you were trying to speed up. Court-ordered process is the only lawful route.
Recovering What the Occupancy Cost You
Someone living rent-free in your property creates real financial harm. Georgia allows owners to recover “mesne profits,” the fair rental value of the property for the period it was unlawfully occupied. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-11-7, you must include a count for mesne profits in your court petition; you cannot file a separate lawsuit later.9FindLaw. Georgia Code Title 44 Property 44-11-7 If the occupant damaged the property, repair costs may also be recoverable with documentation of the before-and-after condition.
The 20-Year Rule People Actually Mean
Adverse possession is the doctrine most people are thinking of when they say “squatters’ rights,” and it has almost nothing to do with a few weeks or months in a vacant house. 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.10Justia. Georgia Code 44-5-161 – Adverse Possession; Effect of Permissive Possession11Justia. Georgia Code 44-5-163 – When Adverse Possession for 20 Years Confers Good Title The timeline drops to seven years if the occupant holds written evidence of title, such as a deed that appears valid but carries a legal defect, and the occupant did not know the document was forged or fraudulent when they took possession.12Justia. Georgia Code 44-5-164 – When Adverse Possession for Seven Years Under Written Evidence of Title Confers Good Title
Every element matters. “Public” means the occupant isn’t hiding their use. “Exclusive” means they treat the property as their own and keep others off. “Continuous” and “uninterrupted” mean no significant gap in occupancy across the entire 20 years. 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 strangers who broke into a vacant home.
So the short answer stays the same. Thirty days gives a squatter nothing in Georgia. The categories that matter were set the day the person entered your property, and the tools to remove them, criminal citation under the Reform Act or civil dispossessory in magistrate court, work on their own timelines rather than any one-month threshold.