What are squatters’ rights in Georgia?
In Georgia, possession of real property for twenty years that meets the statute’s requirements for adverse possession confers good title by prescription. Under the Georgia Squatter Reform Act of 2024, a person who claims the right of possession in good faith may file an affidavit that the property is held by someone who does not claim that right in good faith and refuses to leave. An officer shows the occupant the affidavit and turns the occupant out unless a counteraffidavit is filed, and a person who enters and lives on another’s property without the owner’s knowledge or consent commits the misdemeanor of unlawful squatting. Until that period has run, a person occupying property without permission has no claim to its title. This is O.C.G.A. §§ 44-5-163, 44-11-30.
| What | Georgia |
|---|---|
| Adverse possession period | 20 years |
| Removing an unauthorized occupant | Law enforcement can remove the occupant without an eviction case |
Source
O.C.G.A. §§ 44-5-163, 44-11-30
Read the statute in the Official Code of Georgia (Georgia General Assembly): legis.ga.gov.
The linked sections open Justia’s free copy of the code, because the state’s own site has no stable address for each section.
Checked against the statute on November 13, 2026.
This is a summary of the published procedure, not legal advice. Courts, local rules and the facts of a tenancy change what applies, and a defect in a notice or a filing can end a case. Have a lawyer review anything before it is served or filed.
How Seayora uses this rule
Seayora does not file, serve or appear in an eviction, and is not anybody’s lawyer. When a tenant has stopped paying, it lays out these steps for the property’s own state and city with the statute beside each one, holds back any step that would come too early, keeps an append-only record of the case — and shows the resident what would end it, legal-aid links included.
Guides on this rule
- Squatters’ Rights by State: Adverse Possession and Removal — How long adverse possession takes in 51 states, what the statutes require, and which states let law enforcement remove a squatter without an eviction case.
Compare this rule in every state
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The same question in other states
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- District of Columbia
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