Legislation that would make it easier for hotel managers to eject long-term guests failed to get a Senate vote before the end of Georgia’s 2025 legislative session — but lawmakers are likely to try passing House Bill 61 next year.
Under HB 61, the resident-removal process for hotel inhabitants could be triggered if they fall behind on payments for a stay, or if they overstay their contractual welcome, according to an innkeeper-guest agreement specifying a time period for their occupancy.
HB 61 is what’s called a “Frankenstein bill.” It initially sought to authorize the state to issue special license plates for hearses and ambulances, but Republican representatives gutted that language in March and implanted provisions from the failed House Bill 183, a measure to bolster innkeepers’ power over the length of guests’ stays.
The overhauled HB 61 said that anyone committing the misdemeanor of “unlawful squatting” — living in a house, apartment, hotel, or vehicle without express permission — “shall be subject to removal” by law enforcement within 10 days of being notified via legal affidavit by the property owner, legal occupant, or landlord.
Housing advocates cautioned that the legislation conflated squatters with people who have made extended-stay motels their homes, often due to financial challenges. Most long-term hotel residents have nowhere else to go.
The measure would nullify a 2023 Georgia Supreme Court ruling saying that, in some circumstances, hotel guests could be recognized as legal tenants entitled to the standard eviction process, rather than being locked out of their rooms with little to no warning.
It also would eliminate protections for hotel occupants established by 2025’s House Bill 1017, which afforded some alleged squatters a court hearing to argue for their right to reside at a property.