How to Deal with an Unauthorized Tenant in Atlanta

Are there one or more tenants living in your rental property that shouldn’t be there? Maybe you found out that a temporary guest has been there for months. Or, a significant other suddenly decided to move in. Regardless of how they got there, unauthorized tenants are a great source of headaches. And, if handled incorrectly, you can be the one facing legal problems. Before you have to deal with housing complaints, wrongful eviction lawsuits, or even a drawn-out court battle, here’s what you need to know about dealing with an unauthorized tenant in Atlanta.

Key Takeaways

• Unauthorized tenants are individuals living in your rental property without being approved or listed on the lease agreement, including long-term guests, partners, or unauthorized subletters.
• The difference between a guest and an unauthorized tenant often comes down to the length of stay, use of the property as a primary residence, and signs of permanent occupancy.
• Landlords can identify unauthorized occupants through regular property inspections, unusual utility spikes, unfamiliar vehicles, incoming mail, and neighbor observations.

What is an Unauthorized Tenant?

Through our experience in Atlanta area property management, we know that a tenant becomes authorized the moment they sign a lease agreement with you or their name is specifically indicated as part of the lease. Considering this, in many cases, anyone living in your rental who’s not approved or listed in the lease agreement may be considered an unauthorized occupant under the lease terms.

A common misconception in the discussion of unauthorized tenants is that this term only applies to strangers who somehow got into the property. However, that is not the case. An unauthorized tenant can also be your legitimate tenant’s new partner moving in, or a guest that is supposed to stay for just a couple of nights but never leaves. On some occasions, it can also be a subletter that your tenant let in without your knowledge.

The most important distinction is that an unauthorized tenant is not legally tied to you or your rental property. In practice, this means that they typically have not been approved through the landlord’s screening and leasing process. Basically, an unauthorized tenant is someone you did not approve to live in your unit but continues to do so.

With this in mind, landlords still have a due process to follow. Even if an occupant is not authorized under the lease, landlords must still follow Georgia’s legal eviction process and avoid self-help removal methods. At the same time, occupancy and guest policies should be enforced consistently for all residents to comply with Fair Housing laws.

Guest vs Unauthorized Tenant

A good property doesn’t have to be strict with guests. Usually, your tenant has friends and family that they want to invite over to their place sometimes. As a landlord, what’s important is to determine when a typical guest turns into an unauthorized tenant. But how exactly?

Typically, you can define what is considered a guest in your lease agreement by determining the allowed length of stay and approval requirements. For example, some leases limit guest stays beyond a certain number of consecutive days without your approval. So, if your tenant has a guest staying for longer, then you can clearly state that doing so is a violation of their lease terms.

Going back, a visitor is generally considered a guest when they stay for no more than what is allowed and have not set up for a longer stay. In practice, this means that there are no long-term personal belongings or mail.

On the other hand, an unauthorized tenant is someone who is staying in the property for weeks or months without your permission, and is using it as their address. Because of this, they may also be receiving mail and have set up personal items and belongings, as if gearing for a more permanent stay. Basically, the more that they get to set up and make the rental into their living space, the stronger the evidence that they are an unauthorized tenant.

How to Identify Unauthorized Occupants

Being a landlord requires continuous due diligence, especially when it comes to identifying an unauthorized tenant in your rental property. So, to identify an unauthorized occupant, you need to pay close attention to occupancy-related concerns and ensure proper documentation. Here are some tips.

First, one of the strategies you can use to identify potential unauthorized occupants is to conduct regular inspections. Following state regulations, this process requires you to provide proper notice. The timing should be in accordance with your lease agreement (if you have a policy about it), or with the applicable local laws. Here, you can check for any extra beds, extra hygiene kits, and other telltale signs of another person living in the property other than your tenant.

Aside from this, another great way to tell whether there are more occupants in your rental than there should be is the utility usage. People are creatures of habit, and with this comes a regular ballpark of utility usage. Taking this into consideration, adding a person or two can show significant spikes in water or electricity bills without any other explanation. But while utility increases may be one indicator among several, you should avoid relying on utility usage alone when determining whether lease violations exist.

On some occasions, you can also spot an unauthorized tenant based on the incoming mail and deliveries. If a parcel is addressed to someone who is not on the lease, then that is a big red flag. Simply put, repeated mail or package deliveries addressed to an unapproved occupant may be one indicator of extended occupancy when combined with other observations.

Lastly, in some cases, you may become aware of occupancy issues through observations like parking activity, maintenance requests, or concerns from neighbors.

Take note of such observations as a potential sign of an unauthorized tenant while still maintaining your tenant’s privacy rights at home. During this time, it is also important that you document observations and communications in case the situation escalates or legal action becomes necessary.

How to Deal with an Unauthorized Tenant in Your Property

Let’s say that you’ve confirmed that there is, in fact, an unauthorized tenant in your property. What should you do? To avoid any tenant-landlord disputes and legal liabilities, here are the steps you need to follow:

• Review the lease agreement and identify the specific guidelines regarding allowed guest stays. The lease is your biggest leverage, as it will differentiate what a guest is and what an unauthorized tenant is.
• Once you’re confident that there is a clear violation, talk to your tenant and let them know about the infraction. At this stage, you can give your tenant the opportunity to address the matter at hand and ask how they’d want to proceed. They may want to formally apply for the unauthorized occupant as an actual tenant or simply let them go to avoid the violation.
• Now, if your tenant does not want to comply, many landlords choose to issue a written lease violation notice before pursuing dispossessory proceedings in court. Here, you’re formally notifying the tenant of the lease violation and requesting that the issue be resolved within the applicable timeframe.
• Again, if your tenant refuses to comply with your directive, then the next step is to file a case and pursue eviction through the court. During this period, do not attempt to self-evict, such as changing the unit’s locks, removing their belongings, or cutting off utilities, as these actions may violate Georgia landlord-tenant laws and expose landlords to legal liability.

Safeguard Your Property with Bay Property Management Group

With most things as a landlord, you’ll learn that prevention is better than cure in order to prevent the worst-case scenarios. The same idea applies when it comes to dealing with unauthorized tenants in your rental property. While maintaining a close eye on your property can help avoid such problems, one way to protect your property is by conducting a thorough screening process and regular inspections.

This is where we at Bay Property Management Group step in. With our experience in managing rental properties in Atlanta and other areas in Georgia, we can conduct tenant screening procedures, perform regular inspections, and enforce policies to ensure proper and efficient operations. Sounds interesting? Contact us today to learn more!