Eviction Process in Georgia: Notices, Filing, and Writ

The eviction process in Georgia runs through the magistrate court as a dispossessory action, and no landlord can lawfully remove a tenant without a judge’s order and a sheriff’s involvement. The sequence is fixed: written notice, then a court filing called a dispossessory affidavit, then service on the tenant, then either a default judgment or a hearing, and finally a writ of possession carried out by the sheriff. An uncontested case can finish in two to three weeks. A contested one takes longer, sometimes considerably so.

When a Landlord Can File

Georgia recognizes a handful of grounds for a dispossessory action. Nonpayment of rent is the most common, and a single missed payment is enough. Late fees, unpaid utilities, and other charges owed under the lease count too.¹

A landlord can also file when a tenant stays past the lease term (a holdover) or when a tenant at will or at sufferance refuses to leave after the owner demands the property back. In these situations the landlord does not have to prove the tenant did anything wrong beyond overstaying.¹

Lease violations are the third category. Unauthorized occupants, property damage, illegal activity, or pets in a no-pet unit can all support a case, provided the violation falls within the written lease. Documentation matters here. Photos, written complaints, and police reports carry weight at the hearing.

Notice Before Filing

Skipping the notice step, or delivering it incorrectly, is one of the fastest ways to lose a dispossessory case. Courts treat proper demand as a prerequisite, and cases without it get dismissed.

Three Business Days for Nonpayment

When rent or other charges are owed, the landlord must give the tenant written notice with three business days either to pay everything owed or move out. The clock starts on delivery, and the landlord cannot file until those three days expire without payment or surrender.¹

Demand for Possession in Other Cases

For holdover tenants and tenants at will, the landlord issues a demand for possession. If the tenant refuses or fails to leave, the landlord can file immediately. No additional waiting period applies beyond the demand itself.¹

60 Days for Month-to-Month

When there is no fixed-term lease, the tenancy is at will. Georgia requires the landlord to give 60 days’ notice to end a month-to-month arrangement. A tenant needs to give only 30 days. That notice period runs before the landlord can even demand possession, so the total timeline is longer than for a lease violation or holdover.²

How the Notice Must Be Delivered

The notice has to be posted in a sealed envelope on the door of the property. If the lease specifies extra delivery methods, the landlord should follow those too. Relying solely on a verbal demand no longer satisfies the statute.¹

Filing the Dispossessory Affidavit

Once the notice period passes without payment or surrender, the landlord prepares a dispossessory affidavit. This is the formal complaint that opens the court case. Blank forms come from the local magistrate court clerk or from the Council of Magistrate Court Judges website.³

The affidavit must list every adult tenant as a defendant, the full property address, the grounds for eviction (nonpayment, holdover, or lease violation), and the exact dollar amount of any past-due rent, late fees, and other charges. Judges will not accept vague estimates.

The landlord signs under oath before a notary or the court clerk. Filing fees vary by county and generally run $55 to $75. The affidavit is filed in the magistrate court of the county where the property sits.⁴

Serving the Tenant

After the court issues a summons, it has to be delivered by a sheriff’s deputy, constable, or certified process server. Personal service means handing the summons and affidavit directly to the tenant. If the tenant is not home, service can go to another adult on the premises. When neither works after reasonable effort, the sheriff uses tack-and-mail: posting the documents on the door and mailing a copy to the tenant’s last known address the same day.⁵

The method matters. Tack-and-mail service only supports a judgment for possession of the property. To collect a money judgment for unpaid rent, the landlord needs personal service.⁶ Service fees typically run $25 to $50 per tenant served.

The Tenant’s Seven-Day Answer

After being served, the tenant has seven days to file an answer with the court. The answer can be written or oral and may raise any legal or equitable defense or counterclaim. If day seven lands on a weekend or legal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.⁵

Missing the seven-day window is a serious mistake. The landlord can request an immediate default judgment and a writ of possession, and the tenant loses the chance to be heard.

Common defenses in Georgia dispossessory cases include improper notice (no posting, less than three business days, or no demand at all); rent already paid, or the wrong amount claimed; retaliatory eviction, meaning the landlord filed within three months of the tenant reporting a code violation or requesting repairs; and habitability problems the landlord failed to fix. A successful retaliation defense entitles the tenant to a civil penalty of one month’s rent plus $500 along with court costs, though the landlord can rebut retaliation by showing the property passed a code inspection within the prior 12 months.⁷

Paying Rent Into the Court Registry

When a contested case cannot be resolved within two weeks of service, the tenant must pay rent into the court registry to stay in the property while the case is pending. That includes the past-due rent claimed in the affidavit plus all future rent as it comes due.⁸

Miss even one registry payment and the right to stay is gone. The court issues a writ of possession, and the sheriff removes the tenant.⁸

The Hearing and Judgment

When the tenant files an answer, the court schedules a hearing, usually within one to two weeks. A magistrate judge hears testimony and reviews evidence from both sides.

Landlords typically bring the lease, a payment ledger, the demand notice with proof of posting, and any documentation of the violation. Tenants bring rent receipts, photos of conditions, and copies of repair requests or complaints.

If the judge rules for the landlord, the court enters a judgment for possession and for any past-due rent proven at trial. If the judge rules for the tenant, the tenant stays and the landlord becomes liable for all foreseeable damages caused by the wrongful filing. Funds paid into the registry are distributed according to the judgment.⁹

The Writ of Possession and Removal

A ruling for the landlord produces a writ of possession, but the writ does not take effect immediately. A seven-day waiting period runs from the date judgment was entered, giving the tenant time to move out or file an appeal.⁹

Once the seven days pass with no appeal, the landlord pays a fee to the sheriff’s office to schedule the physical eviction. The sheriff or a deputy supervises the removal, and any personal property left behind is placed outside the dwelling. Only the sheriff can carry out the removal.

Self-Help Is Not an Option

A landlord who tries to force a tenant out without going through court faces real exposure. Changing the locks, shutting off utilities, removing doors or windows, or hauling a tenant’s belongings to the curb without a writ all count as wrongful conduct. Georgia law makes the landlord liable for all foreseeable damages, and if the self-help eviction followed a protected tenant complaint, the tenant can also collect the statutory retaliation penalty of one month’s rent plus $500.⁹

Appealing the Judgment

Either party can appeal. The petition for review or notice of appeal must be filed with the trial court clerk within seven days of the judgment, and appeals go to the superior court or state court.¹⁰

A tenant who loses and wants to stay in the property during the appeal must pay all rent the trial court found due into the registry of the reviewing court, and must keep paying future rent into the registry as it comes due. Missing a payment during the appeal produces the same result as missing one during the trial: removal.¹⁰

Security Deposit After the Eviction

An eviction does not cancel the landlord’s security deposit obligations. Within 30 days of regaining possession, the landlord must return the deposit or provide an itemized statement of deductions for damages beyond normal wear and tear, mailed to the tenant’s last known address.¹¹

Withholding any part of the deposit without justification carries a steep penalty. A tenant can sue for three times the amount improperly withheld plus reasonable attorney’s fees. A landlord can reduce exposure by showing the error was an unintentional, good-faith bookkeeping mistake, but the burden of proof sits on the landlord.¹²

Federal Protections That Can Pause the Process

Two federal laws and one HUD rule can override Georgia’s timeline in specific situations.

Active-Duty Military Tenants

Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, active-duty members and their families have eviction protections when monthly rent falls below a threshold that adjusts annually for housing-cost inflation. If military duty materially affects the ability to pay, a court can stay the eviction for up to 90 days or fashion another equitable order. The servicemember has to request the protection; it is not automatic. Before filing against any tenant, a landlord must submit a military-status affidavit.¹³

Tenant Bankruptcy

When a tenant files for bankruptcy before the landlord obtains a judgment for possession, the federal automatic stay generally blocks the landlord from delivering a termination notice or continuing the case. The landlord has to ask the bankruptcy court to lift the stay before moving forward. If the landlord already had a judgment for possession before the bankruptcy filing, the stay generally does not apply and the eviction can proceed.¹⁴

Even with a pre-existing judgment, a tenant can get a temporary 30-day stay by filing a certification and depositing rent with the bankruptcy court. If the landlord objects and shows the certification is false, the court lifts the stay.¹⁴

Federally Subsidized Housing

Properties in public housing or project-based rental assistance programs are subject to a separate federal rule requiring a 30-day written notice before a landlord can file for eviction based on nonpayment. As of early 2026, HUD has indefinitely delayed a proposed rescission of that requirement, so the 30-day rule remains in effect for covered properties. Landlords with federally subsidized units should confirm whether the property falls under this requirement before relying on Georgia’s three-business-day timeline.

1
Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-50 – Demand for Possession; Procedure Upon a Tenant’s Refusal; Notice to Vacate or Pay
2
Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-7 – Tenancy at Will
3
Council of Magistrate Court Judges. Forms
4
Judicial Council of Georgia. Landlord/Tenant
5
Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-51 – Issuance of Summons; Service; Time for Answer; Defenses and Counterclaims
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Gwinnett County. Magistrate Court – Dispossessory Action – FAQs
7
Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-24 – Establishment of a Prima Facie Case of Retaliation
8
Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-54 – Payment of Rent and Utility Payments Into Court; Issuance of Writ Upon Failure to Pay; Disposition of Funds
9
Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-55 – Judgment; Writ of Possession; Landlord’s Liability for Wrongful Conduct; Distribution of Funds Paid Into Court; Personal Property
10
Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-56 – Appeal; Procedure
11
FindLaw. Georgia Code Title 44 Property 44-7-34
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Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-35 – Remedies for Landlord’s Failure to Return Security Deposit
13
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3951 – Evictions and Distress
14
United States Bankruptcy Court. Individual Debtors Guide to Judgments of Eviction