Eviction Notice in Georgia: Delivery, Content, and Deadlines

Before a Georgia landlord can file an eviction case, state law requires a written notice to the tenant, and the type of notice depends on why the landlord wants possession. For nonpayment of rent, the tenant must be given three business days to pay everything owed or move out. For a tenant who stays past the lease term, occupies the property at will, or has broken the lease, the landlord issues a demand for possession with no statutory waiting period. An eviction notice in Georgia is a prerequisite to court, not a substitute for it: only a judge can order the tenant out, and only a sheriff or marshal can carry that order out.

When the Three-Business-Day Notice Applies

The three-business-day notice is specific to nonpayment cases. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-50(c), before filing a dispossessory action for unpaid rent, the landlord must give the tenant a written notice allowing three business days either to pay the full amount owed or to vacate the property.¹ This requirement took effect on July 1, 2024, when the Safe at Home Act (House Bill 404) became law.²

The notice has to cover everything the landlord claims is owed: past-due rent, late fees, utilities, and any other charges under the lease. If the tenant pays the full amount within those three business days, the landlord cannot proceed with the eviction. If the tenant neither pays nor leaves, the landlord can file with the court on the fourth business day.

Business days exclude weekends and legal holidays. A notice posted on a Wednesday, for example, gives the tenant through the following Monday to respond. Landlords who miscalculate the count and file too early hand the tenant a clean defense.

When a Demand for Possession Is Enough

The three-business-day clock is only for nonpayment. For every other ground under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-50, the landlord issues a demand for possession with no mandatory waiting period.¹ Three situations fit here:

Holding over, meaning the tenant remains in the property after the lease term has ended.
Occupancy at will or by permission, where there is no formal lease and the owner wants possession back.
Lease violations, such as unauthorized pets, unpermitted subletting, or significant property damage. The statute doesn’t list violations by name; the lease itself typically defines what counts and whether the tenant gets a chance to cure.

In these cases, once the landlord demands possession and the tenant refuses or fails to leave, the landlord can file the dispossessory affidavit immediately. There is no three-day grace period built into the statute for holdover or violation cases.

How the Notice Must Be Delivered

Georgia doesn’t leave delivery to the landlord’s discretion. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-50(d), the demand for possession or the three-day pay-or-vacate notice must be posted in a sealed envelope conspicuously on the door of the property. If the lease specifies additional delivery methods, the landlord has to follow those as well.¹

Two points get confused often enough to be worth separating. First, this delivery rule applies to the pre-suit notice only. The court summons that comes later, after the affidavit is filed, has its own service requirements handled by the sheriff or a process server. Second, mailing a notice by regular mail alone doesn’t satisfy the statute. The envelope has to be posted on the door.

Documentation matters. Landlords should photograph the posted envelope, note the date and time, and keep a witness if possible. If the tenant later claims the notice never arrived, that record is the landlord’s proof.

What the Notice Should Say

The statute doesn’t give a fixed template, but the dispossessory affidavit filed later has to show that the landlord demanded possession and was refused. A vague or incomplete notice weakens that showing. At a minimum, the notice should contain:

The full legal name of every adult tenant on the lease and the landlord or property management company.
The complete physical address of the rental unit, including any apartment or unit number.
The reason for the notice, stated plainly: nonpayment, holding over, or a specific lease violation.
For nonpayment cases, an itemized amount owed covering past-due rent, late fees, utilities, and other charges.
An explicit demand: pay or vacate within three business days (for nonpayment), or surrender possession (for other grounds).
The date the notice is posted, which starts the three-business-day clock in nonpayment cases.

Errors in these details are what tenants use to challenge evictions later. Overstating the amount owed, omitting a named tenant, or failing to identify the grounds can delay the process by weeks.

What Happens if the Tenant Doesn’t Comply

The notice is the trigger for court, not the eviction itself. If the tenant pays in full within the three business days (or, for other grounds, surrenders possession), the matter ends there. If not, the landlord’s next step is to file a dispossessory affidavit with the court. O.C.G.A. § 44-7-50 permits filing with a magistrate or before the judge or clerk of the superior or state court in the county where the property is located, though most residential cases go through magistrate court.¹

Once the affidavit is filed, the clerk issues a summons and the sheriff or a process server delivers it to the tenant. The tenant then has seven days to file an answer with the court, and that answer can be written or oral.³ If no answer is filed, the court issues a writ of possession without a hearing and treats every claim in the landlord’s affidavit as proven.⁴

The notice is what makes all of that possible. Skip it, or get it wrong, and the case does not survive a challenge.

Notice Mistakes That Derail Evictions

Georgia’s eviction process reads simply on paper, but the notice stage is where most avoidable errors happen. The recurring ones:

Filing the dispossessory affidavit without giving the three-business-day notice first in a nonpayment case. Courts dismiss for failure to satisfy the statutory prerequisite.
Sending the notice by regular mail only, instead of posting a sealed envelope on the door as the statute requires.
Counting weekends or holidays toward the three business days and filing a day too early.
Listing the wrong amount owed, or omitting a tenant named on the lease, so the demand doesn’t match what the affidavit later claims.
Failing to document delivery. Without a photo, a witness, or a dated record, a tenant’s denial can stall the case.

Tenants reading a notice should check it against the same list. A notice that doesn’t state a reason, doesn’t itemize the amount, wasn’t posted on the door, or gives the wrong count of days is a defect worth raising in the answer.

Self-Help Isn’t a Substitute for Notice

A written notice is the beginning of a court process, not a license to force the tenant out. Georgia law prohibits landlords from cutting off utilities to pressure a tenant during a pending eviction. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-14.1, a landlord who knowingly suspends cooling, heat, light, or water service before the dispossessory case is fully resolved faces a criminal fine of up to $500.⁵

Georgia courts likewise hold that only a sheriff or marshal can physically remove a tenant, and only after a court order. Changing locks, removing doors, or hauling belongings to the curb without a writ of possession exposes the landlord to civil liability for wrongful eviction, which can run well beyond the statutory fine for utility shutoffs. A tenant facing a lockout, a utility cutoff, or removal of belongings before any court judgment should contact the court or a legal aid organization the same day.