I have a friend who is staying in my home. She has a home of her own, but doesn't like to stay by herself. She does not pay rent, never asked her to, therefore no agreement. Doesn't pay any utilities either. We more or less split the cost of food. If worse comes to worse what can I do?

You need to decide what you want to do. Do you want rent money or do you just want her out? The twp approaches will be different so decide what you want first and tell us

Have her sell her home, charge her rent, and have her help you out on any expenses you need help paying. Or, she can just move back to her home and have her get a roommate.

If it comes to worse I would like her to be out. Since she does own a home would I have to go through an eviction procedure?

If it comes to worse I would like her to be out. Since she does own a home would I have to go through an eviction procedure?

You start by asking her to leave. If she refuses then you start eviction procedure which could take a month. Follow eviction steps for your state, just Google state name eviction

This is a little bit more iffy. Since she has her own home, that is her official residence. So she may not have established residence in your home.

But its always on the safe side to go through the formal eviction process. You can check what that is at your local housing court.

Does she keep belongings in your home?
If not, change the locks.

It sounds like it's a matter of sitting her down and talking with her.

Not as iffy as you may think. You can own 10 residences and still be a tenant at an 11th home you do not own. The "tenant" has been allowed to live with the OP for some time so she likely is considered a tenant by most states. Paying rent or owning other property does not alter the established residency. If she will not go on her own then eviction is the next step.

Tenants are usually defined as people paying rent to occupy a space/office/land/etc.
She is not paying rent and does not have an agreement.

It sounds more like someone overstaying their welcome.

That is a common misconception and not the legal definition of tenant. Renting is the most common but paying money is not a requirement. Just allowing someone to live in a residence makes them a teant. http://www.duhaime.org/LegalDictionary/T/Tenant.aspx Not written agreement or money is required by law. In legal fact, if you booted out a friend you allowed to live in your home for a period you will have broken the law.

That is USUALLY if they have substantial personal belongings in the home.
Because then, yes, it is a residence. You have effectively allowed her to move in.

A legal eviction that shows up on her record can be avoided.

1) Talk to her.
2) If there are issues, contact the Sheriff.

In Georgia, guests are not tenants.
If you do not have a written agreement, you also do not need to give them notice to leave.
She's lucky she's dealing with you, for free, and not a hotel/motel. They could sell her belongings to help pay for rent.

Does she keep belongings in your home?
If not, change the locks.

Changing the locks can be considered an illegal eviction. I would never recommend changing the locks to force someone out of a home.


In Georgia, guests are not tenants.
If you do not have a written agreement, you also do not need to give them notice to leave.
She's lucky she's dealing with you, for free, and not a hotel/motel. They could sell her belongings to help pay for rent.

Do you have a cite on guests not being tenants in GA? Courts are generally reluctant to put someone out on the street. Nor is a written agreement necessary to follow the rules for eviction. It is always better to be safe when getting someone out of your home. An illegal eviction can be costly.

Does she keep belongings in your home?
If not, change the locks.

It sounds like it's a matter of sitting her down and talking with her.


Self help - including changing the locks, whether there are belongings in the house - is actually illegal in Georgia and can get the OP arrested.

This is not my opinion - it is directly from the State of Georgia's website. EVICTIONS AND DISPOSSESSIONS (http://www.dca.state.ga.us/housing/HousingDevelopment/programs/downloads/landlord/evictdisposs.html)

Although you can maintain multiple residences, you are not doing any harm to the guest as they have a personal residence.

Courts would not be putting her out on the street as she has her own residence. Which is why I don't see them thinking this is an issue.

The only issue I see is that the OP stated they "split the cost of food." Which COULD be contributing to the household if they indeed shared meals. But there is no way for her to prove that the food she bought was shared.

Give her a date to leave - permanently.

http://www.consumer-sos.com/Georgia/Landlord_&_Tenant/landlord_t3.htm#Houseguests-EvictingThem

It is a question of whether she is a tenant or not.
You cannot change the locks without notifying a TENANT.

The only thing that would possibly make her such is buying food (contributing to the household).

Which is why the OP should first talk to her, give her a deadline to move out by in writing, and contact the sheriff if any issues arise.

Your cite has some interesting opinions. But that's what they are, opinions, not law. The case law cited does have bearing, but would only come into play if the guest took the OP to court and I think avoiding a civil court battle is a worthy goal.

As for the police removing a trespasser, probably not going to happen. All the guest has to do is show a presence in the home and they will probably not act. Police don't like to get involved in civil matters.

So we come back to my recommendation to play it safe and legally evict.

It is a question of whether she is a tenant or not.
You cannot change the locks without notifying a TENANT.

The only thing that would possibly make her such is buying food (contributing to the household).

Which is why the OP should first talk to her, give her a deadline to move out by in writing, and contact the sheriff if any issues arise.


No, that is not the only thing that creates a tenancy. Has the "guest/tenant" used OP's address for ANYTHING at ANY TIME?

At any rate, I quoted the law. Advising the OP to take any other action is irresponsible.

It is the policy of AMHD not to advise anyone to step outside the law for any reason - I have asked a moderator to look at this thread and make certain that my statement of AMHD policy is correct.

Someone active in a "fathers' support group" posted for a while - all of his advice was contrary to law. His cites were all support groups, nothing according to Law. I failed to see how his advice was helpful. If people followed that advice and got into legal problems, was he going to be responsible? I rather doubt it.

The suggestion was made that he take his legal conclusions and arguments off the legal threads and onto the discussion boards - which is where they belonged.

After consulting Atlanta Legal Aid Society, they confirmed that serving a guest with a legal eviction can indeed turn them into a tenant, thus prolonging the time it takes for them to actually leave.

How do we know she will not go on her own?
Why not talk to her first and give her a date to leave?
You could potentially avoid fees.

http://www.dca.state.ga.us/housing/HousingDevelopment/programs/downloads/landlord/rntlpropmgmt.html

From what the OP has stated this is a legal tenant. From what I have read this is not up for debate, this is a tenant by legal definition. If you have a Georgia law (where did we read its in Georgia) please give us a link. Calling in the sheriff will not cause an eviction, that must be done through the courts. The sheriff would not arrest or remove this person since no law has been violated. Look at the general definition of tenant, allowing use of the property establishes tenancy. Landlord and Tenant legal definition of Landlord and Tenant. Landlord and Tenant synonyms by the Free Online Law Dictionary. (http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Landlord+and+Tenant)

After consulting Atlanta Legal Aid Society, they confirmed that serving a guest with a legal eviction can indeed turn them into a tenant, thus prolonging the time it takes for them to actually leave.

How do we know she will not go on her own?
Why not talk to her first and give her a date to leave?
You could potentially avoid fees.

Rental Property Management and the Law (http://www.dca.state.ga.us/housing/HousingDevelopment/programs/downloads/landlord/rntlpropmgmt.html)


No one said anything about evicting a guest - "we" are talking about evicting a tenant. Ask Legal Aid about that angle and let us know what they say.

Moderator - !

Please refer to the link I posted, which defines what the court deems as a tenant in Georgia.
I previously ran across a website stating that the courts may decide that a guest is actually a tenant if they contribute to the household, including food.

The site you provided gives information to the contrary. Please read the GEORGIA STATE definition of a tenant: http://www.dca.state.ga.us/housing/HousingDevelopment/programs/downloads/landlord/rntlpropmgmt.html

Comments on this post
kalliereann disagrees : GUEST is not a tenant according to outlines provided by Georgia law.

First, may I call your attention to the guidelines for using the comments feature found here:

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/feedback/using-comments-feature-24951.html

By your own admission there are times when a guest may be considered a tenant including circumstances mentioned by the OP. Therefore, giving a negative comment was inappropriate.

Also, It was made clear to the OP that she should ask the person to leave. Only if she refuses does she need to pursue legal action.

First I live in GA, Second I worked for years here in law enforcement Third, I own many rental properties and have worked with evictions in Ga "alot" ( too much)


A guest becauses a tenant at a vague point and time. First it does help show the point if they receive mail at that location. If they have paid any bills at that location.

But there is no one firm answer as if it is one week of staying or two weeks of staying.

In general first the police in GA will not remove someone if they have been living at that address and have property at that address. *** if you illegally lock them out, the police will go with them to get their property and/or to force you to allow them back onto the property, if they can prove some legal of legal status.

Normally if there was some verbal agreement as to allowing them to stay ( verus being a guest for a couple of days) makes the difference.

Thus the real issue, even if they were their a week, and perhaps not legally a resident, the police will not do anything, so you are going to have to evict them as if they were a resident because there is no other way to get them out.