Landlords still argue how much notice to give tenants to vacate a rental property when they want to cancel a lease.

Is it 30 or 60 days’ notice to evict a tenant in Georgia? The short answer is “Yes”. But you didn’t come here for the short answer. “It depends” isn’t much better. Let us explain the eviction process in Georgia to make you a better landlord. Of course, if you want someone else to be the landlord, call us. We are professional Landlords.

NOW, Georgia tenant law requires that any lease longer than 12 months needs to be in writing.

Although verbal agreements are enforceable, how many people in dispute tell the truth? It is required to honor the terms of the lease first and foremost, so let’s start there. In Georgia, although the lease can be written to terminate at any time and that the tenant may be evicted the next day, a judge will not agree with that if the tenant fights it. Our rental agreement we use in Macon has a 30 day right to terminate, mainly because of the slower court process. Our agreement in Warner Robins, Bonaire and Perry rental houses usually allow the full 60 days. Your tenant should be given a reasonable amount of time to find a new place to live or you could face a mad, vindictive tenant that can leave your rental property in a big mess. If there are no violations involved and the tenant is no longer under the terms of a lease, Georgia law requires the landlord to give 60 days’ notice to vacate. Of course, the tenant only has to give the landlord a 30 day notice of vacating a rental property.

A good property manager will be smarter than this, but a tenant that violates the terms of a rental agreement can be evicted immediately. Even though it is un-likely that your tenant will leave quietly that fast, it is allowed. Here is a paragraph from the Georgia tenant guide;

A demand should be dated, list the name of the tenant and premises, and may state: “You [tenant] are notified that you have violated or failed to perform terms of the Lease as follows: _________. You must surrender possession and vacate the premises within ____ days after service of this notice.”

A more realistic time frame for getting a tenant in violation depends on the speed of your enforcement and the court of your county. As stated in the Georgia tenant/landlord guide, the proper process requires a demand letter posted or mailed to correct the violation or vacate the property in a given time. If they do not comply in the time allotted, a wright of possession is filed with the court. The tenants are given seven days to reply. If they do, a court date is set and both sides are heard. If not, the default goes to the landlord and immediate eviction can be enforced. Some counties insist that the landlord schedule an eviction with the constable of court to supervise the eviction; check with your local court. We have been able to complete an eviction in one month.

The big trick is getting a good tenant that you work well with from the start. We are proud to say the only tenants we have had to evict are tenants that we “inherited”. Call us to find out more about good, long term tenants from using a professional landlord.