Writ of Possession in Georgia: Timeline, Execution, and Appeals

A writ of possession in Georgia is the court order that lets a sheriff, marshal, or constable physically remove a tenant and their belongings from a rental after the landlord wins a dispossessory case. In most cases the writ cannot be enforced until seven days after the judgment is entered, which gives the tenant a short window to appeal or move out voluntarily.¹ The one major exception is a default judgment, where the writ issues immediately.²

When the Writ Issues

A writ of possession only comes into existence after a judge rules for the landlord in a dispossessory case. There are two paths to that ruling, and they produce very different timing.

If the tenant files a written answer and the case goes to trial, the court decides whether the landlord has proved grounds for eviction. If the landlord wins, the court enters judgment for the rent owed and issues the writ. The writ becomes enforceable seven days after the date judgment was entered. The tenant does not have to ask for that delay; the statute builds it in automatically.¹

If the tenant never files an answer within seven days of being served with the summons, the court enters a default judgment treating every claim in the landlord’s affidavit as proven. The writ issues at that moment, with no additional waiting period.² This is why the seven-day answer deadline is the single most important date in the entire process. Miss it, and there is no hearing, no chance to raise defenses, and no built-in buffer before law enforcement can come to the door.

What You Can Do in the Seven Days After Being Served

Once the sheriff or constable serves the summons, the clock starts. Personal service is required first; if that fails, the summons can be left with another adult on the premises or, as a last resort, posted on the door and mailed the same day to the tenant’s last known address.³ From that date, you have seven days to respond.

Filing a written answer with the court preserves your right to a trial. It also means you keep possession while the case is pending. There is a condition attached: at the time you file the answer, you must pay the rent the landlord claims is owed into the court’s registry. Skipping that payment can trigger a writ of possession before the hearing happens, and that is a situation tenants almost never recover from.²

At trial you can raise defenses such as improper service, defective notice, the landlord’s failure to maintain habitable conditions, or retaliation. If you win, you stay, the landlord is liable for all foreseeable damages the wrongful eviction attempt caused, and the court distributes any registry funds according to its judgment.¹

The Tender Defense for Nonpayment Cases

If the eviction is for unpaid rent, Georgia law gives you a specific escape hatch. Paying the landlord all rent owed plus the cost of the dispossessory filing within seven days of being served is a complete defense to the case.⁴

Two limits apply. First, a landlord only has to accept this tender once every twelve months from the same tenant, so a tenant who already used it in the past year cannot rely on it again. Second, if the landlord refuses a valid tender, the court can order the landlord to accept the money, but the tenant must then pay everything owed within three days of that order.⁴

What Happens When the Writ Is Executed

Once the writ is enforceable, the landlord has to actually use it. The landlord must apply for execution within 30 days of the writ’s issuance. After that, the application has to include a sworn statement explaining the delay, or the landlord has to apply for a new writ.¹

A sheriff, constable, or marshal carries out the actual eviction. The law does not set a deadline for law enforcement to act once the landlord applies. If the sheriff or marshal cannot execute the writ within 14 days of the landlord’s request, the landlord can hire an off-duty law enforcement officer or another peace officer certified by the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council to do it at the landlord’s own expense. The sheriff’s office must provide a list of authorized off-duty officers on request.¹

Your Belongings After the Writ Is Carried Out

Georgia law is harsh on this point. The writ authorizes the officer to place your personal property on a portion of the landlord’s property or at another location the landlord designates with the officer’s approval. After the writ has been executed, the landlord has no duty to safeguard any of it. The statute states that the landlord is not a bailee and that the property is treated as abandoned.¹

In plain terms, anything left in the unit or set outside can be discarded, donated, or hauled away. There is no required holding period and no obligation for the landlord to contact you about items left behind. If you know the writ is coming, remove valuables, identification, medications, and important documents before the officer arrives.

Appealing After Judgment

If the court ruled against you, you can appeal by filing a copy of the appeal petition with the trial court within seven days after judgment is entered. Filing the appeal does not, by itself, let you stay in the property. To remain during the appeal, you have to pay all rent the trial court found to be due into the reviewing court’s registry and keep paying future rent into that registry as it comes due.⁵

For appeals that reach the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court, those rent payments go into the trial court’s registry rather than the reviewing court’s. A tenant who cannot afford to deposit the claimed rent will likely lose possession regardless of the appeal’s merit.

If you cannot afford a private attorney, the Georgia Legal Services Program represents tenants in both subsidized and private rental housing and focuses on eviction defense.⁶ GeorgiaLegalAid.org can also point you to local services.

What a Landlord Cannot Do Without a Writ

The dispossessory process and a court-issued writ are the only legal way to remove a tenant who will not leave. Changing locks, removing doors, boarding up windows, or hauling your belongings out without a writ are all illegal self-help eviction.

One rule is especially specific. A landlord cannot shut off cooling, heat, light, or water while a dispossessory proceeding is pending. Doing so is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500.⁷ If a landlord pursues a wrongful eviction and loses, the tenant can recover all foreseeable damages the landlord’s conduct caused.¹ If you experience an illegal lockout or utility shutoff, document everything and seek legal help right away.

Extra Protection for Active-Duty Servicemembers

If you are on active duty and your ability to pay rent is materially affected by your military service, the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act requires the court to grant a stay of eviction proceedings for up to 90 days on request, with discretion to adjust that period or modify the lease terms as justice requires. The SCRA covers primary-residence rentals below an annually adjusted monthly rent threshold tied to housing-cost inflation; as of 2025 that threshold was $10,239.63, which covers essentially every residential rental in Georgia. Knowingly evicting a protected servicemember without a court order is a federal crime carrying up to one year in prison and a fine.⁸

1
Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-55 – Judgment; Writ of Possession; Landlord’s Liability for Wrongful Conduct; Distribution of Funds; Personal Property
2
Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-53 – When Writ of Possession Issued
3
Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-51 – Issuance of Summons; Service; Time for Answer; Defenses and Counterclaims
4
Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-52 – When Tender of Payment by Tenant Is a Defense to Dispossessory Proceedings
5
Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-56 – Appeal; Procedure; Possession and Payment of Rent Pending Appeal
6
Georgia Legal Services Program. Housing
7
Justia. Georgia Code 44-7-14.1 – Landlord’s Duties as to Utilities
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3951 – Evictions and Distress