Houston County, Georgia Eviction Risk: Very Low

Houston County, Georgia eviction laws earns an average eviction-risk score of 2.4/10, placing it in the Low risk tier and ranking it 135th of 159 Georgia counties, where rank 1 is the highest-risk market. That position means 134 counties in the state carry more risk for landlords, and only 24 are less risky. For an investor comparing markets across the state, Houston County falls comfortably in the lower-risk third, backed by a population of 115,689 and an average rent of $1,206 per month.

The county-wide average, however, masks meaningful variation across its four cities. Scores range from 2.3 to 2.7, a spread wide enough that choosing the right submarket inside the county matters as much as choosing the county itself. An average rent burden of 30.6% suggests a renter base that is financially stretched at the margins, which can translate into elevated delinquency pressure in higher-risk pockets even when the county headline looks favorable.

The cities inside Houston County

Centerville and Perry carry the highest risk scores in the county at 2.7/10 and 4.4/10 respectively. Centerville has a population of 8,505, while Perry, at 23,001 residents, is the second-largest city in the county. Landlords concentrated in either market should price that elevated risk into their underwriting, particularly given that each city sits well above the county average.

Warner Robins, the county's largest city with a population of 82,990, scores a considerably lower 2.9/10, making it one of the more landlord-friendly operating environments in this part of Georgia eviction laws. Robins AFB, with a population of 1,193, posts the lowest score in the county at 2.5/10. The gap between Centerville's 4.6 and Robins AFB's 2.5 underscores how hyper-local eviction risk can be even within a single county boundary.

State-level laws that apply here

Georgia state law, codified under O.C.G.A. § 44-7, governs all landlord-tenant relationships in Houston County. For nonpayment of rent or a material lease violation, the required notice period is 3 days. A holdover or no-cause termination requires a much longer 60-day notice under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-7. An uncontested eviction typically resolves in 14 to 30 days; a contested case can extend to 45 to 90 days. Court filing fees run $60 to $250, sheriff lockout fees add $25 to $100, and attorney fees range from $500 to $3,000 depending on complexity. Understanding the full Georgia eviction costs before acquiring a property allows landlords to set appropriate cash-flow reserves. Georgia imposes no just-cause requirement for eviction and, critically, state law preempts any local rent-control ordinance under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-19, so no municipality in Houston County can cap rents. The Georgia eviction process remains relatively landlord-friendly by national standards, and the absence of rent control statewide gives investors more pricing flexibility than in many comparable markets.

With a poverty rate of 13.3% and a renter share of 43.6% across the county, the tenant pool is substantial, and city-level scores above show where within Houston County risk concentrates most.