Georgia Eviction Process: Dispossessory Filing, Answer, and Writ

The Georgia eviction process is a court-supervised sequence called a dispossessory proceeding, and a landlord has to move through every step of it before anyone can be removed from a rental. It starts with a written demand for possession, moves to a filing in the Magistrate Court of the county where the property sits, and ends with a sheriff-supervised lockout under a writ of possession. Uncontested cases generally take four to six weeks; contested ones run longer. Skipping the court and changing the locks, cutting utilities, or hauling belongings to the curb is illegal.¹

When a Landlord Can File

Georgia recognizes three reasons for a dispossessory action: the tenant fails to pay rent when it comes due, the tenant violates a specific term of the lease, or the tenant stays past the end of the lease (a holdover). The same statute also covers occupants with no formal lease, who hold the property “at will or sufferance.”² Whichever ground applies, the court process is the same.

The Demand for Possession

Nothing gets filed until the tenant receives a demand for possession. For nonpayment, the notice must be in writing and give the tenant three business days to either pay everything owed (rent, late fees, utilities, and other charges the lease specifies) or leave. The notice is posted in a sealed envelope on the front door, along with any additional delivery method the lease requires. If the tenant neither pays nor leaves during those three business days, the landlord can go to court.²

For holdovers and other lease violations, the statute requires a demand but sets no specific waiting period, so a refusal to leave opens the door to filing right away. Many leases build in their own cure periods for particular violations, and those contract deadlines still bind the landlord. A written demand with a kept copy protects the landlord if the tenant later denies one was made.

Filing the Dispossessory Affidavit

The case begins at the Clerk of the Magistrate Court in the county where the property is located. The landlord files a sworn Dispossessory Affidavit that lists the full legal names of every adult occupant, the property address including any unit number, the reason for the eviction, and the exact amount owed through the filing date.³ Naming every adult matters, because the judgment only reaches people named in the case.

Filing fees vary by county but generally sit around $60, plus a service fee of roughly $25 to $35 per defendant. The affidavit is signed under oath, and courts also typically require a nonmilitary affidavit stating whether any tenant is on active duty.

How the Tenant Is Served

Once the affidavit is filed, the court issues a summons and the sheriff or a deputy delivers it. Personal service (handing the papers directly to the tenant) is the preferred method. If the tenant is not home, the officer can leave the papers with any adult of suitable age and discretion who lives on the premises. If no one is available, the officer posts a copy on the door and mails another to the tenant’s last known address the same day, known as tack-and-mail service.⁴

The method of service changes what the landlord can win. When only tack-and-mail service is used and the tenant never responds, a default judgment can give the landlord possession, but the court cannot enter a money judgment for unpaid rent unless the tenant later files an answer or appears. Landlords who want back rent as part of the outcome should push for personal service.

The Tenant’s Seven Days to Answer

The tenant has seven calendar days from the date of service to respond. If the seventh day is a weekend or legal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day. The answer can be oral (noted on the affidavit by the clerk) or in writing, and it can include any legal or equitable defense as well as a counterclaim.⁴

If no answer is filed, the landlord can request a default judgment, and most uncontested evictions end here. If an answer is filed, the tenant may stay in the property while the case proceeds, but at the time of the answer the tenant must begin depositing rent into the court’s registry. Failure to make those deposits can cost the tenant the right to remain in possession before trial.⁵

The Tender Defense in Nonpayment Cases

A tenant who is being evicted for nonpayment has a one-time option. Within seven days of service, the tenant can offer the landlord every dollar of rent owed plus the cost of filing. Accept it and the case is over. If the landlord refuses a valid tender, the court will order the tenant to pay within three days, and the case still ends without eviction.⁶ The landlord only has to accept this kind of post-filing tender once per tenant in any twelve-month period, so a tenant who used the defense in the past year cannot use it again.

Other Defenses the Tenant Can Raise

Beyond tender, several defenses show up regularly in Georgia dispossessory cases:

Improper or missing demand for possession. A valid demand is a condition of the whole case, and skipping it (or skipping the three-business-day window for nonpayment) is grounds for dismissal.¹
Acceptance of rent after knowing about a lease violation, or after the lease expires, can waive the right to dispossess for that default.
The landlord’s failure to make substantial repairs, which Georgia law requires. It can be raised as a defense or counterclaim, though it does not automatically excuse unpaid rent.⁷
Retaliatory eviction. If the landlord files within three months of the tenant reporting a health, safety, or habitability concern, the tenant can argue retaliation. Winning that defense blocks the eviction and entitles the tenant to a penalty of one month’s rent plus $500, along with court costs; willful or malicious conduct also opens the door to reasonable attorney’s fees. The defense does not apply if the tenant is behind on rent at the time of the landlord’s notice.⁸

The Hearing and Judgment

When the tenant files an answer, the Magistrate Court sets a hearing, and Georgia law directs courts to move dispossessory trials quickly.⁵ The landlord presents the lease, payment records, and any relevant communications. The tenant presents defenses and counterclaims. If the judge rules for the landlord, the court enters a judgment for possession and for any rent or other amounts proven. A writ of possession is issued along with the judgment, but the writ cannot be executed until seven days after the judgment date.⁹ If the judge rules for the tenant, the tenant stays, the registry funds are distributed under the judgment, and the landlord becomes liable for all foreseeable damages caused by wrongful conduct in bringing the case.

The Writ of Possession and the Lockout

The seven-day window between judgment and effective writ gives the tenant time to move out voluntarily or file an appeal. After that window, the landlord must apply for execution of the writ within 30 days; missing that deadline forces a new application with an affidavit explaining the delay.⁹

A sheriff, deputy, constable, or marshal supervises the removal. If the sheriff’s office cannot execute the writ within 14 days of the landlord’s request, the landlord can hire an off-duty certified peace officer to carry it out, at the landlord’s expense. The landlord supplies the labor to move belongings out, the officer keeps the process orderly, and once the locks are changed the landlord has the property back.

What Happens to Belongings Left Behind

Georgia’s rule on abandoned property surprises most tenants. Once the writ is executed, the tenant’s belongings can be placed on part of the landlord’s property or another location the executing officer approves, and from that point the statute treats the items as abandoned. The landlord is not a bailee and owes no duty regarding the property.⁹ There is no required storage period and no notice before disposal. A tenant who expects to lose a case should move valuables out before the writ is executed, because the law provides no right of return.

Appealing a Dispossessory Judgment

A tenant who loses in Magistrate Court can appeal to superior court or state court. The appeal must be filed within seven days of the judgment, the same window before the writ takes effect. Filing the appeal, on its own, does not let the tenant stay in the property for free. To remain in possession during the appeal, the tenant has to deposit all rent the trial court found owed into the registry of the reviewing court and keep paying future rent into that registry as it comes due.¹⁰ Tenants who cannot deposit the back-rent amount lose possession even while the appeal continues.

Self-Help Is Illegal

Dispossessory proceedings are the only lawful way to force a tenant out. Changing locks, removing doors, or dumping belongings on the curb without a court order is an illegal self-help eviction. Cutting off cooling, heat, light, or water to a tenant while a dispossessory case is pending is a separate crime, punishable by a fine of up to $500.¹¹ A tenant who wins the case can also recover all foreseeable damages caused by the landlord’s wrongful conduct.⁹ Self-help usually costs a landlord more than the unpaid rent that prompted it.

Active-Duty Military Tenants

The federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act adds protections for active-duty tenants and their dependents. A landlord generally cannot evict a servicemember from a primary residence without a court order when the monthly rent is below a threshold that Congress adjusts each year for housing costs; the current level covers the great majority of residential rentals.¹² Before entering a default judgment in any eviction, the court needs an affidavit stating whether the tenant is on active duty, which is why Georgia magistrate courts typically require a nonmilitary affidavit alongside the Dispossessory Affidavit. If the tenant is a servicemember, the court can stay the proceedings or adjust lease obligations, and a landlord who skips the affidavit risks having the default set aside.

1
Justia. Georgia Code Title 44, Chapter 7, Article 3 – Dispossessory Proceedings
2
Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-50 – Demand for Possession; Procedure Upon a Tenant’s Refusal; Notice to Vacate or Pay
3
Council of Magistrate Court Judges. Georgia Magistrate Court Dispossessory Affidavit and Summons
4
Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-51 – Issuance of Summons; Service
5
FindLaw. Georgia Code 44-7-53 – Trial of Issues; Stay of Proceedings
6
Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-52 – When Tender of Payment by Tenant Serves as Complete Defense
7
Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-13 – Landlord’s Duties as to Repairs
8
FindLaw. Georgia Code 44-7-24 – Retaliatory Actions by Landlord Against Tenant Prohibited
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
Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-14.1 – Landlord’s Duties as to Utilities
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3951 – Evictions and Distress