How to Evict a Roommate in Georgia (and Other Household Situations)
What Georgia law says about roommates who are not on the lease, guests who won't leave, family members, renting a room in your own home, and tenancies at will — each with the statute or official source.
Short answer: A roommate who did not sign the lease is not liable to the landlord unless the landlord accepted payment from them or the landlord's other actions created a landlord-tenant relationship. A roommate who leases from the original tenant is a subtenant: they occupy through the tenant, not the landlord, and the landlord's mere acceptance of a subtenant's rent does not by itself make the subtenant the landlord's tenant. Georgia Landlord-Tenant Handbook (Dept. of Community Affairs), pp. 13-14, 23
| Roommate not on the lease | A roommate who did not sign the lease is not liable to the landlord unless the landlord accepted payment from them or the landlord's other actions created a landlord-tenant relationship. A roommate who leases from the original tenant is a subtenant: they occupy through the tenant, not the landlord, and the landlord's mere acceptance of a subtenant's rent does not by itself make the subtenant the landlord's tenant. Whether a person is a tenant depends on the agreement and conduct, such as paying rent, primary residence, belongings and length of stay. |
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| Removing a roommate or subtenant | A tenant who rents to a subtenant is in a landlord-tenant relationship with that person, and Georgia allows removal only through the court dispossessory process: the owner demands possession, then files a dispossessory affidavit in magistrate or another authorized court if the occupant refuses. Self-help evictions such as lockouts or utility shutoffs are illegal. Official code not freely readable online; text verified on a public code mirror (code year 2024). Landlords cannot step in to resolve disputes between roommates unless there is a lease violation or criminal act (Handbook, p. 23). |
| Guests who won't leave | No statute sets a fixed number of days. The state handbook lists factors that make it more likely a person is a tenant: paying rent, using the property as a primary residence, keeping belongings there, staying several months or more, having no end date, cleaning and maintaining the property, and coming and going freely. A squatter is someone who never had the owner's permission to be on the property and can be removed by affidavit without an eviction case; a person who was allowed to stay is handled differently. A landlord-tenant relationship can arise even when no rent is charged, if the owner gave the right to stay. |
| Removing a family member or partner | No statute names family members specifically. The dispossessory statute covers land "held and occupied by any tenant at will or sufferance, whether under contract of rent or not": the owner demands possession and, if refused, files a dispossessory affidavit in court. A relative or partner who was given permission to live there is not a squatter under the affidavit removal process, which applies to people who never had the owner's permission. Official code not freely readable online; text verified on a public code mirror (code year 2024). Family violence protective orders are a separate court process. |
| Renting a room in your own home (lodgers) | No separate lodger rule in the official guidance reviewed. A landlord-tenant relationship exists when an owner grants someone the right to possess and use real estate, for a fixed time or at the owner's will, even without charging rent. A room renter whose agreement bars visitors, alterations or coming and going at certain hours is less likely to be a tenant; one who pays rent and lives there as a primary residence is more likely to be. |
| Tenancy at will | Where no end date is specified, the tenancy is a tenancy at will. The landlord must give 60 days' notice, and the tenant 30 days' notice, to end it. Rent changes for a tenancy at will also require 60 days' notice. Official code not freely readable online; text verified on a public code mirror (code year 2024). |
| Hotel and extended-stay guests | No statute sets a day count. The state handbook says hotel and motel guests are typically not tenants, but an extended-stay guest could become a tenant based on an express agreement or the conduct of the parties. |
Never remove someone by changing the locks or taking their belongings: if the person has become a tenant, only a court can order them out. If there is violence or a threat, call 911 and ask about a protective order.
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Georgia eviction laws · Free legal help in Georgia · Roommate rules in other states
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.