Georgia Squatters Rights and Adverse Possession Laws (2026)

Georgia requires 20 years of adverse possession to claim title without written evidence of ownership, or just 7 years under color of title. The 2024 Georgia Squatter Reform Act (HB 1017, Act 483, effective April 24, 2024) rewrote Georgia's intruder-affidavit procedure so that a sheriff, deputy, constable, marshal, or other POST-certified officer may turn an unlawful occupant out three days after exhibiting the owner's sworn affidavit, unless the occupant tenders a counteraffidavit.

Verified as of September 2026. Georgia adverse possession: O.C.G.A. § 44-5-161 (what possession must be), § 44-5-163 (20 years, no color of title) and § 44-5-164 (7 years, color of title). Anti-squatting law: Georgia Squatter Reform Act, HB 1017, Act 483, effective April 24, 2024, enacting O.C.G.A. § 16-7-21.1 (unlawful squatting) and amending O.C.G.A. §§ 15-10-2 and 44-11-30 through 44-11-33. Standard dispossessory process: O.C.G.A. § 44-7-50 through § 44-7-59.

Jurisdiction scope: This page covers Georgia state law only. For a comparison of squatters rights rules across all 50 states, see the national squatters rights guide.

Adverse Possession in Georgia: Period and Elements

Georgia recognizes two adverse possession tracks, both governed by the prescription statutes in O.C.G.A. Title 44, Chapter 5, Article 7.

Without color of title - 20 years (O.C.G.A. § 44-5-163)

When a person occupies land without any written instrument purporting to convey title, Georgia requires 20 years of possession meeting the requirements of O.C.G.A. § 44-5-161 before a court will award prescriptive title. That title is good against everyone except the state and persons laboring under the disabilities listed in O.C.G.A. § 44-5-170.

Under color of title - 7 years (O.C.G.A. § 44-5-164)

When a person holds a written instrument that appears to transfer title but is legally defective (for example, a deed with a flawed legal description or a gap in the chain of title), the required period falls to 7 years. The written instrument is the "color of title," and it also defines the boundaries of the parcel that can be claimed. Section 44-5-164 carries the same carve-out for the state and for persons under a § 44-5-170 disability, and it bars prescription entirely where the written title is forged or fraudulent and the claimant had actual notice of the forgery or fraud when possession began.

No tax-payment requirement

Georgia does not require an adverse possessor to have paid property taxes during the prescriptive period. This distinguishes Georgia from states such as California and Arizona where tax payment is a statutory element.

What the statute requires

The controlling list is in O.C.G.A. § 44-5-161(a). To be the foundation of prescriptive title, possession must be in the right of the possessor and not of another; must not have originated in fraud, except as provided in O.C.G.A. § 44-5-162; must be public, continuous, exclusive, uninterrupted, and peaceable; and must be accompanied by a claim of right. Section 44-5-161(b) adds that permissive possession cannot found a prescription until there is an adverse claim and actual notice to the other party.

Georgia courts usually describe the same statutory requirements with the familiar common-law shorthand. Both the 20-year and 7-year tracks require all of it, without a break, for the entire prescriptive period:

1. Actual possession. The claimant must physically occupy and use the land in a manner consistent with its character. Cultivating, fencing, building on, or maintaining the land all qualify as actual possession.
2. Public, open, and notorious. The statute uses the word "public." The occupation must be visible and obvious enough that a reasonable property owner inspecting the land would notice someone else is in possession. Hidden or concealed use does not satisfy this requirement.
3. Exclusive. The claimant must hold the land to the exclusion of the true owner and the general public, exercising dominion as a true owner would. Shared use with others typically defeats exclusivity.
4. Peaceable, under a claim of right, and adverse (the label courts often shorten to "hostile"). The statutory words are "peaceable" and "claim of right"; "hostile" is a judicial shorthand rather than a term § 44-5-161 uses. What it captures is that possession must be adverse rather than permissive. If the owner licenses or consents to the occupation, § 44-5-161(b) means the prescriptive clock does not run until there is an adverse claim and actual notice to the owner. "Hostile" does not require ill intent, and possession taken or held by force is not peaceable and so cannot found a prescription at all.
5. Continuous and uninterrupted. Possession must be unbroken for the full prescriptive period. Brief abandonments or gaps can restart the clock. Georgia courts allow "tacking," meaning a claimant may add together the periods of successive possessors in privity with each other to reach the required total.

Possession must also be held in the claimant's own right rather than someone else's, and it cannot have originated in fraud. Any gap in any requirement restarts the clock, and the claimant carries the burden of proving every one of them.

How to Remove a Squatter in Georgia

Georgia property owners have two legally distinct removal paths depending on the nature of the occupation.

Path 1: The HB 1017 Intruder-Affidavit Process

The Georgia Squatter Reform Act (HB 1017, Act 483, effective April 24, 2024) rewrote Article 2 of Chapter 11 of Title 44, the "proceedings against intruders" article, and expanded magistrate court jurisdiction over those proceedings under O.C.G.A. § 15-10-2. The procedure is aimed at an occupant who does not in good faith claim a right to possession, not at a tenant.

Step-by-step process:

1. Swear a property affidavit. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-11-30 the owner, an agent, or an attorney in fact subscribes an affidavit before any officer authorized to administer an oath, stating that the affiant claims the right of possession in good faith and that the land or tenement is in the hands of a named person who does not in good faith claim a right to possession and refuses to abandon it.
2. An officer exhibits the affidavit to the occupant. HB 1017 widened who may act, from the sheriff alone to a sheriff, sheriff's deputy, constable, marshal, or other individual certified by the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council. The officer must exhibit the affidavit at the earliest possible day.
3. The occupant may tender a counteraffidavit stating that he or she claims a legal right to possession in good faith. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-11-31 the same officer is competent to administer that oath.
4. If no counteraffidavit is tendered, the officer turns the occupant out once three days have elapsed from the day the affidavit was exhibited. Those three days are a minimum waiting period that runs from the day the affidavit is shown to the occupant, not a deadline that runs from the owner's filing.
5. If a counteraffidavit is tendered, the officer leaves both parties in place and returns both affidavits to the clerk of the magistrate court for a nonjury trial (O.C.G.A. § 44-11-32). HB 1017 moved this proceeding from superior court to magistrate court and replaced the jury trial with a bench trial. If the magistrate finds the counteraffidavit unmeritorious by a preponderance of the evidence, the occupant is turned out as soon as practicable under a writ of possession, the court may award the owner fair market rent for the period of occupancy plus other monetary relief the court finds appropriate, and the decision is appealable directly to the Georgia appellate courts rather than by de novo review in superior court.

HB 1017 also enacted O.C.G.A. § 16-7-21.1, a named misdemeanor offense of unlawful squatting: entering the land or premises of another and residing there for any period of time, knowingly acting without the knowledge or consent of the owner, rightful occupant, or an authorized representative of the owner. The statute is citation-first. A person accused of unlawful squatting receives a citation and then has three business days to present properly executed documentation authorizing the entry, such as a lease, a rental agreement, or proof of rental payments, to the head of the issuing law enforcement agency or a designee. A person who cannot produce that documentation is subject to arrest for unlawful squatting. A person who does produce documentation gets a hearing within seven days, and if the court finds the documentation was not properly executed or is not meritorious, the occupant faces removal under O.C.G.A. § 44-11-32, arrest and penalties under O.C.G.A. §§ 16-9-1 and 16-9-2, and an additional fine based on the fair market monthly rental rate of the property.

That offense is new, but it is not the first criminal exposure an unauthorized occupant has faced in Georgia. Criminal trespass under O.C.G.A. § 16-7-21 has long made it a misdemeanor to enter land after receiving notice that entry is forbidden, or to remain after receiving notice to depart, and that statute was on the books well before 2024. What § 16-7-21.1 adds is an offense written specifically around residing on the property, the citation-and-documentation procedure described above, and magistrate court jurisdiction to try and sentence it.

When the HB 1017 path is not available:

The affidavit process applies to occupants who do not in good faith claim a right to possession. If a landlord-tenant relationship exists, even an informal one, the owner must use the standard dispossessory process. Courts look at the substance of the arrangement, not just the label the parties use.

Path 2: Standard Dispossessory Under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-50

The dispossessory (eviction) process under O.C.G.A. §§ 44-7-50 through 44-7-59 applies when the occupant has a rental agreement, a tenancy at will, or some other legal basis for initially being on the property that has ended.

The process in summary:

1. Demand to vacate. The landlord or property owner makes a written or oral demand that the occupant leave the premises.
2. File a dispossessory affidavit in the magistrate court of the county where the property is located. The affidavit states the basis for possession (lease, tenancy, etc.) and the grounds for removal (nonpayment, holdover, lease violation, etc.).
3. Service on the occupant. The court serves the summons on the occupant, who then has 7 days to file a written answer.
4. Hearing. If the occupant files an answer, the court schedules a hearing. If no answer is filed, the court may issue a default judgment for the property owner.
5. Writ of possession. After judgment in the owner's favor, the court issues a writ of possession. The sheriff executes the writ and removes the occupant, typically within a few days of issuance.

No self-help removal. Georgia law prohibits property owners from removing an occupant by force, changing locks, shutting off utilities, or removing belongings without a court order. Violating this rule exposes the owner to civil liability and potentially criminal charges. The dispossessory statute is the exclusive legal remedy once a tenancy relationship exists.

Legal disclaimer: This page provides general legal information about Georgia squatters rights and adverse possession law. It is not legal advice. Laws change, and individual circumstances vary. Consult a licensed Georgia attorney before taking or forgoing any legal action related to property rights or occupancy disputes.

Page last reviewed: September 2026. Georgia law; not valid in any other state.

For squatters rights laws in other states, see the national squatters rights guide.

More Georgia Laws

• Georgia Landlord-Tenant Laws

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a squatter have to be on property in Georgia to claim ownership?

Twenty years without color of title (O.C.G.A. § 44-5-163) or seven years with color of title (O.C.G.A. § 44-5-164). Time alone is never enough. Throughout the whole period the possession must meet O.C.G.A. § 44-5-161: it must be in the possessor's own right, must not have originated in fraud, must be public, continuous, exclusive, uninterrupted, and peaceable, and must be accompanied by a claim of right.

What did Georgia's 2024 Squatter Reform Act change?

The Georgia Squatter Reform Act (HB 1017, Act 483, effective April 24, 2024) enacted O.C.G.A. § 16-7-21.1, a misdemeanor offense of unlawful squatting with a citation-first procedure, and it rewrote the intruder-affidavit statutes at O.C.G.A. §§ 44-11-30 through 44-11-33. Under the rewritten § 44-11-30 a sheriff, deputy, constable, marshal, or other POST-certified individual exhibits the owner's affidavit to the occupant and turns the occupant out once three days have elapsed, unless a counteraffidavit is tendered. A counteraffidavit now goes to magistrate court for a nonjury trial rather than to a superior court jury, and the Act expanded magistrate court jurisdiction under O.C.G.A. § 15-10-2 to cover these matters.

Does Georgia require adverse possessors to pay property taxes?

No. Georgia does not require an adverse possessor to pay property taxes during the prescriptive period. The statutory requirements in O.C.G.A. § 44-5-161 are possession in the possessor's own right, not originated in fraud, public, continuous, exclusive, uninterrupted, and peaceable, and accompanied by a claim of right. Tax payment is not among them.

What is color of title in Georgia and why does it matter?

Color of title is a written instrument (such as a deed) that appears to transfer ownership but is legally defective for some reason. In Georgia, holding color of title reduces the adverse possession period from 20 years to 7 years under O.C.G.A. § 44-5-164. The instrument also defines the boundaries of the land that can be claimed through adverse possession. Section 44-5-164 bars prescription where the written title is forged or fraudulent and the claimant had actual notice of that when possession began.

Can a Georgia landlord change the locks to remove a squatter?

No. Self-help removal is illegal in Georgia. A property owner must use either the HB 1017 intruder-affidavit process under O.C.G.A. § 44-11-30 for occupants who do not in good faith claim a right to possession, or the standard dispossessory process under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-50 if a tenancy relationship exists. Changing locks, removing belongings, or cutting utilities without a court order can expose the owner to civil liability.

What is the dispossessory process in Georgia?

Georgia's dispossessory process under O.C.G.A. §§ 44-7-50 through 44-7-59 starts with a demand to vacate, followed by filing a dispossessory affidavit in magistrate court. The occupant has 7 days to file a written answer. After a hearing or default judgment, the court issues a writ of possession that the sheriff executes to remove the occupant.

Can a squatter ever win an adverse possession claim against a Georgia homeowner?

It is legally possible but very difficult. A claimant must prove every requirement in O.C.G.A. § 44-5-161 for the full 20-year period, or 7 years with color of title. Property owners can defeat a claim by granting the occupant permission, because permissive possession cannot found a prescription until there is an adverse claim and actual notice under § 44-5-161(b). HB 1017 also gives owners a faster route to remove an unlawful occupant long before any prescriptive period could accumulate.