University student Matt Daniel was leaving class on Oct. 2 when he got a call saying he and his three roommates were being evicted and had 30 days to move.

They weren’t behind on their rent or rude to neighbors, Daniel said. But they are four unrelated people living in a part of Athens where it’s illegal for more than two people from different families to share the same living quarters.

“I cannot believe the rule,” Daniel, a fifth-year from Social Circle, said. “I don’t think it’s fair at all.”

When he got the call, Daniel rushed home from class and met with an Athens-Clarke County official.

“I honestly thought it was a prank,” he said. “I was arguing a bit against her, like ‘I just can’t believe this.’”

Daniel’s roommate, Jeremy Fermin, soon arrived at the house and talked to the official while Daniel called his other roommates.

“I watched the ordinance lady go down the street to all these other college houses,” said Fermin, a junior from Hinesville. “a lot of people are OK because they’re living with siblings, but we ran into a lot of other neighbors who are being evicted.”

Fermin explained that soon after arriving in the neighborhood in August, a neighbor reported several nearby houses as potentially being in violation of the ordinance.

Daniel said his neighbor’s problems could have been fixed without involving the government.

“I think, from an individual standpoint, if our next-door neighbor had a problem with us she could be an adult about it and knock on our door,” he said. The complaint the neighbor filed cited parking problems as the instigating issue, he said.

“We don’t throw parties. We’re just living in a house,” Fermin said. “I can understand from like, being crazy, but there’s no way we were. She should have said something.”

Regardless of the neighbor’s issues, the students were kicked out because they were living in a single family residence zone. This zone, and agrarian residential zones, restrict who can live in a unit,” said Bruce Lonnee, senior planner for Athens-Clarke County. “It’s not that students can’t live there, it’s just the number of people.”

Lonnee said the ordinance attempts to address the cause of overcrowding issues such as noise and trash, and different versions of the law have been on the books for more than a decade. Similar ordinances can be found in other counties, he said.

Ordinance violations tend to come in waves, he said.

“We’ll have a go around with this and everyone will understand it and comply,” he said. “As time passes, we end up with some slippage.”

Lonnee said his office tries to educate landlords to stop ordinance violations.

“In most cases, the tenants aren’t aware. The problem becomes the tenant is the person who’s there when the violation comes up,” he said. “We’ve tried to impress upon the landlords to really understand the rule.”

Fermin said he and his roommates are not happy about the situation.

“We’re pissed at our landlord because we were ignorant of the situation, but our landlord – we don’t know if he knew about it,” he said. “When he heard about it, he said, ‘I had never heard of someone getting caught for this.’ Luckily, he’s helping us out. He found us a place to live.”

Jeff Koon, the landlord, said he had heard “bits and pieces about [the ordinance], but nothing factual.”

He said he feels bad about the situation, but is not worried about a lawsuit from his tenants.

“I think everything’s going to run smooth,” he said. “I just try to do whatever I can to make this as painless as possible.”

Koon, who rents several properties in Athens, said he’s worried he’ll take a hit financially as he tries to find new tenants.

“I don’t have a mountain of cash,” he said. “We had to move those guys out, so that’s going to hurt me in the pocketbook.”

Koon also said the ordinance is unfair.

“I don’t think the law is just,” he said. “It’s very discriminatory, towards college students especially.”

Daniel said between breaking up with his girlfriend, coming down with the flu and planning a fundraising concert, the eviction came at the worst time. Now, he said he’s most concerned about preparing for his big move next week.

“We’re more organized now,” he said. “I think things are going to get better.”