Eviction of rental of room

A

Alison Smith

New Member
Jurisdiction
Georgia
Approximately 2 months ago I rented a bedroom with the use of a bathroom, laundry area and kitchen. This person has now failed to pay rent, installed a lock on the bedroom door and has not returned in a week. She still owes $28.00 for this past week which was due 06/20/19. All the furniture and large flat screen TV are my property. Since she put a lock on the door I am not able to enter. Do I have the right to enter the bedroom in my home without going to jail. She installed the lock without my permission among other things. Just trying to stay in the boundaries of the law.
 
After a brief look I do not see that Georgia has any special circumstances for landlords who rent rooms in their own homes.
The lock the room may just be another reason for eviction, but you are likely best off to do nothing until you are supported by an order from the court.

Look up the legal eviction process in Georgia and follow it exactly. Failure to do it right results in lost time and money and you may have to start over from the beginning.
 
Alison Smith said:
Do I have the right to enter the bedroom in my home without going to jail.
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This is not something you would be arrested for.
Give notice (there are different ways to do it) that you intend to enter and inspect the property. With proper notice you may enter, but you can't take things.
 
Alison Smith said:
Approximately 2 months ago I rented a bedroom with the use of a bathroom, laundry area and kitchen. This person has now failed to pay rent, installed a lock on the bedroom door and has not returned in a week. She still owes $28.00 for this past week which was due 06/20/19. All the furniture and large flat screen TV are my property. Since she put a lock on the door I am not able to enter. Do I have the right to enter the bedroom in my home without going to jail. She installed the lock without my permission among other things. Just trying to stay in the boundaries of the law.
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When you ask about entering the tenants room...Do you mean randomly without notice or with 24 hour notice?
 
mightymoose said:
This is not something you would be arrested for.
Give notice (there are different ways to do it) that you intend to enter and inspect the property. With proper notice you may enter, but you can't take things.
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I gave notice a week ago and she has failed to shop up. She stated if I entered she would have me arrested.
justblue said:
When you ask about entering the tenants room...Do you mean randomly without notice or with 24 hour notice?
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I gave her notice 6 days ago and she has not shown up.
 
The room never had a lock on it. I told her if she put a lock on it she would have to give me a key. Now she is stating I wasn't home when she put the lock on the door. I was home and asleep with my bedroom door open.
 
Alison Smith said:
The room never had a lock on it. I told her if she put a lock on it she would have to give me a key. Now she is stating I wasn't home when she put the lock on the door. I was home and asleep with my bedroom door open.
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I just want to be clear...Sans emergency,you may not enter at will to her room. A quarterly inspection is okay with notice.
 
Alison Smith said:
I gave her notice 6 days ago and she has not shown up.
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You gave notice of what?
It sounds more like you made a demand for rent than a notice that you would enter and inspect the room.
She doesn't get to decide who gets arrested. You being arrested for going in the room is equivalent to get being arrested for not paying the rent... It just won't happen because it is not a criminal act.

If the room is locked make sure you give appropriate notice before opening it. Even then, your entry is to inspect, not to pack get up and move her out.

Granted, you can pack her up and kick her out, but doing so gives her grounds to sue you for an unlawful eviction, and that can get expensive if she follows through. Is she all talk? It's your call.

I'd say that is if she is threatening to have you arrested then she is more talk than actactionhe has no clue.
 
justblue said:
I just want to be clear...Sans emergency,you may not enter at will to her room. A quarterly inspection is okay with notice.
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Do you know that specifically for Georgia? As best I could tell that is probably true.

Here in California the owner maintains access and control over the entire residence and can enter at will. I don't know which other states, if any, allow for that.
 
She is refusing to unlock the door or give me a key. Said I would have to take her to court. I gave her an eviction notice 6 days ago and she had failed to pay the remainder of last weeks rent and we are now in to another week. I am the sole owner of the house and have a disabled boyfriend who lives with me.
mightymoose said:
You gave notice of what?
It sounds more like you made a demand for rent than a notice that you would enter and inspect the room.
She doesn't get to decide who gets arrested. You being arrested for going in the room is equivalent to get being arrested for not paying the rent... It just won't happen because it is not a criminal act.

If the room is locked make sure you give appropriate notice before opening it. Even then, your entry is to inspect, not to pack get up and move her out.

Granted, you can pack her up and kick her out, but doing so gives her grounds to sue you for an unlawful eviction, and that can get expensive if she follows through. Is she all talk? It's your call.

I'd say that is if she is threatening to have you arrested then she is more talk than actactionhe has no clue.
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i gave her a 7 day eviction notice due to illegal behavior. The next day she changed the lock on the bedroom door and has not returned since last Sunday. I told her last Sunday I needed a key for the room and she refused and is still refusing.
 
That notice is probably not sufficient for entry, and 7 days probably was not sufficient either. You most likely have to give 30 days notice, but if rent was being paid weekly you might have an exception there. You will have to research the eviction process in Georgia and figure out what the required notice period is for your situation.

Notice to enter is very different and typically requires 48 hours or so notice absent an emergency.

Regardless of your notice, she is not required to leave until a court orders her out. The sooner you begin the process with the court the better.
 

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