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familyneedshelp · Jun 10, 2013, 04:50 PM

My sister and niece moved in with me in my home in November 2011 with no contract but the deal was that she would pay me $350.00 per month and get on her feet. She stopped paying in April 2012 and has paid once since then. I let her stay because my niece has special needs and was in her final year of high school. I told my sister in January 2013 that I wanted her to leave by the end of March because I couldn't handle paying all of the bills and my utilities were being cut off and I'm scrounging to find money to turn them on and she wasn' t helping. March 29 came and my siblings and I imploded because she shared her lies of not being able to get her teeth fixed so she couldn't find a job, etc. That day, told her and texted my brothers that she had until my niece graduated last Friday, then she had to go. Friday came and she came up with lies that she was waiting on a case worker, etc. Friday night, texted her that I didn't want to get the cops involved and she had to leave. She texted me Saturday that she's not leaving because she called the cops and they said I couldn't make her leave. I was livid, went home (was at a friend's house) and told her to leave. She refused and the cops came, telling her they can't force her to leave and telling me in front of her to evict her. That was Saturday. Today, called the magistrate's office and they said I have to give proper notice, then go pay the $74.00 to have her served. I'm trying to learn if the text messages and the verbal deadlines count as notice to vacate? My niece is welcome to stay and I've told sister to get her life together, then come and get niece. She's irrational, bi-polar and has dragged even our 70 year old mother into it. Please help! I need her out because the stress is seriously affecting my health. Seriously! Thank you so much.

smoothy · Jun 10, 2013, 05:17 PM

You have to follow the laws of you state for eviction.

That is the only way to legally get rid of them unless they leave on their own. Because they have established a residency./.. and are month to month tenants under the law.

That requires a WRITTEN notice to vacate in advance... and best if its properly served so you can prove they got it if you have to take them to court to have the eviction served by the sheriffs.

Verbal notices are worth the paper they are written on... basically nothing. Pay the money , do it by the letter of the law and you will have them out of there faster than you will by doing it the wrong way.

If they threaten you in any way... do NOT hesitate to call the police and get a restraining order issued against them... but you STILL have to follow through with the eviction notice.

familyneedshelp · Jun 10, 2013, 05:22 PM

Thanks. I'm doing my filing online now. I looked up several Georgia law sites and verbal is acceptable so I'm going to the dispossessory (sp) stage now. Appreciate your help!

Originally Posted by smoothy

You have to follow the laws of you state for eviction.

That is the only way to legally get rid of them unless they leave on their own. Because they have established a residency./..and are month to month tenants under the law.

That requires a WRITTEN notice to vacate in advance...and best if its properly served so you can prove they got it if you have to take them to court to have the eviction served by the sheriffs.

Verbal notices are worth the paper they are written on.....basically nothing. Pay the money , do it by the letter of the law and you will have them out of there faster than you will by doing it the wrong way.

If they threaten you in any way...do NOT hesitate to call the police and get a restraining order issued against them....but you STILL have to follow through with the eviction notice.

smoothy · Jun 10, 2013, 05:25 PM

Originally Posted by familyneedshelp

Thanks. I'm doing my filing online now. I looked up several Georgia law sites and verbal is acceptable so I'm going to the dispossessory (sp) stage now. Appreciate your help!

If you have to go to court to have it enforced... and they claim you never gave a verbal... then what are you going to do? You are going to have to prove to the Court you have waited the appropriate time before they can hear the case.

Have it served in writing... then no matter what they say... you can prove it was done... and when. You need to cover your butt really well or an experienced moocher (and they sound like they are) will game the system to get a lot more free room and board at your expense.

ScottGem · Jun 10, 2013, 05:32 PM

You should have checked the laws for your area back in January.
Any question on law needs to include your general locale as laws vary by area.

No, text messages, especially ones like you describe, will not satisfy.
And I could have told you the cops would say what they did.

The good news here is that you had an agreement to pay rent. Hopefully you can prove that by past payments. With that you can give her a pay or quit notice IN WRITING. This notice can give her 3-15 days to vacate. The amount of time depending on local laws. If she does not vacate within the deadline, then you need to file for a formal eviction order. That's when you pay the fee to have her served with a court summons that includes a hearing date. At the hearing she will need to show cause why she should not be evicted. Unless she can, the court will issue an eviction order which will set a date for her to leave or be physically removed.

If you can't prove she owes you rent, you will have to give her written notice to vacate in 30-60 days, again depending on local laws. At that time you can proceed to file.

Edit: I see you said you are in GA. It is true that GA does not require the initial notice to vacate to be in writing, so, you may be able to get away with the texts. GA requires a 7 day notice for pay or quit. So you might still want to try that. However, GA law distinguishes between a Tenant and a boarder. Your sister may qualify as a boarder and therefore, has more limited rights.

familyneedshelp · Jun 10, 2013, 05:46 PM

I'm in metro Atlanta, Georgia. Thank you for the advice. This is a situation in which I've never found myself before and will be extremely cautious in future.

LisaB4657 · Jun 11, 2013, 06:42 PM

I answered this question yesterday and gave the specific procedure for an eviction according to Georgia landlord/tenant law. Apparently some moderator deleted my response.

In Georgia you need to give the tenant 60 days written notice that their tenancy is terminated and they must move out. If they haven't moved out within that time then you can file a lawsuit for eviction, also called a summary dispossess proceeding.

Texts and verbal notices are not sufficient even if you read somewhere that the law permits it. If the tenant says you never gave notice then it is your word against the tenant and if a judge is sympathetic to the tenant then you will lose. Put the notice in writing.

In the alternative you can try giving a notice for non-payment of rent. But again, you do not have the agreement in writing. If it goes to court and the tenant says the agreement was only that she would pay when she could, you could lose and you would have to start all over again. So I would give her a 60 day written notice to terminate instead.

ScottGem · Jun 11, 2013, 06:51 PM

Originally Posted by LisaB4657

I answered this question yesterday and gave the specific procedure for an eviction according to Georgia landlord/tenant law. Apparently some moderator deleted my response.

I saw your response yesterday, but I don't see any evidence it was deleted. Not sure what happened to it.

However, when I looked I found 2 sites that seemed to confirm that written notice was not required but desirable. Since that seemed to confirm the OP's research, I didn't look further. Do you have a statute that lists 60 days?

And what about classifying her as a boarder?

LisaB4657 · Jun 11, 2013, 06:54 PM

Originally Posted by ScottGem

I saw your response yesterday, but I don't see any evidence it was deleted. Not sure what happened to it.

However, when I looked I found 2 sites that seemed to confirm that written notice was not required but desirable. Since that seemed to confirm the OP's research, I didn't look further. Do you have a statute that lists 60 days?

And what about classifying her as a boarder?

I did. Now I'll have to go and look for it again.

LisaB4657 · Jun 11, 2013, 07:00 PM

This is the link for the Landlord Tenant Handbook put out by the Georgia Dept. of Community Affairs. DCA | Georgia Landlord Tenant Handbook

Pages 19-20 of the handbook provide information on the amount of notice necessary to terminate a tenancy-at-will. Page 7 discusses the differences between tenants and boarders. I do not think this tenant will qualify as a boarder.

ScottGem · Jun 11, 2013, 07:15 PM

I looked at that same handbook. On the pages you cited, it says; "To protect your legal rights any and all notices should be in writing. " and " It is best to for the tenant to provide this notice in writing." Further O.C.G.A. §44-7-7 simply stats that 60 days is required, nothing about it being in writing. The language in the handbook clearly indicates that notice in writing is highly advisable, but not required.

However, I would suspect that no judge would accept a petition for an order of eviction unless the landlord could prove the tenant was informed in the proper timeframe.

We'll just have to see what happens to the petition the OP filed if he comes back to let us know.

AK lawyer · Jun 11, 2013, 07:43 PM

"§ 44-7-7. Tenancy at will -- Notice required for termination
Sixty days' notice from the landlord or 30 days' notice from the tenant is necessary to terminate a tenancy at will."

That is interesting. Most places require written notice, but apparently Georgia does not.

In any case, even if it did, the plain meaning of "written" would include a text message. There is always the possibility that a judge would not agree, therefore as the others suggest it would still be a good idea to have a notice written on paper served on the tenant, and have proof of service avaiable, to be safe.

When you texted her, did she text back so as to acknowledge receipt of the messages demanding that she leave?

LisaB4657 · Jun 11, 2013, 07:47 PM

It doesn't matter if he texted her or if she texted back with an acknowledgment. His text to her did not give her 60 days notice.

AK lawyer · Jun 11, 2013, 08:07 PM

Originally Posted by LisaB4657

It doesn't matter if he texted her or if she texted back with an acknowledgment. His text to her did not give her 60 days notice.

You're right:

... March 29 came and... That day, told her and texted my brothers that she had until my niece graduated last Friday, then she had to go.. .

The text was to the brothers, not her.

LisaB4657 · Jun 11, 2013, 08:11 PM

Originally Posted by AK lawyer

You're right:

.

Occasionally that happens.

ScottGem · Jun 12, 2013, 03:02 AM

Originally Posted by LisaB4657

It doesn't matter if he texted her or if she texted back with an acknowledgment. His text to her did not give her 60 days notice.

I agree also, there is no indication that 60 days notice was given. The closest we have is this:

January 2013 that I wanted her to leave by the end of March

Depending on when in January that could constitute 60 days, if the OP can prove that notice was given. But since he didn't file at the end of March, that may have expired.

The whole issue here is that it is unclear whether a judge will agree that the OP has followed the law in informing the sister she has to vacate.