Tenant Abandonment of Property

[Rebekah Nation]

Hello everyone,

I’m a first time landlord and I just delivered a 7 day notice to pay or vacate to a tenant for non-payment of rent. I did get in touch with him afterwards and he said he would pay in the outlined timeframe, but he hasn’t and now I can’t get in touch with him via phone. I’ve talked to one of his neighbors who said it looks like he moved out and that no one has been there for a couple of weeks. When I drove by a few evenings ago, it appeared vacant. I have contacted the water company and of course, he hasn’t paid the water bill since October, but more importantly, he hasn’t used any water for the past 2 weeks. Everything is pointing to him abandoning the property. I live in Georgia and I want to act in accordance with the law so my question is, how do I determine from a legal perspective that he has in fact abandoned the property? I know I can’t just go let myself in. Thanks to everyone who takes the time to respond!