Outline of the eviction process in Georgia

Georgia evictions are called dispossessory proceedings and are filed in magistrate court under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-49 and following. Georgia has long been one of the fastest states to regain possession, and it still is, but the Safe at Home Act (HB 404), which applies to residential leases entered into or renewed on or after July 1, 2024, added a mandatory three-business-day notice before a nonpayment filing, a habitability duty and a two-month security deposit cap. Landlords still using pre-2024 notice forms are the ones losing cases in Fulton, DeKalb and Gwinnett magistrate courts today.

1. Grounds for eviction in Georgia

• Nonpayment of rent.
• Holding over after a lease ends or after a periodic tenancy is properly terminated (60 days' notice from the landlord, 30 from the tenant, for a tenancy at will under § 44-7-7).
• Breach of the lease where the lease provides for termination on breach.
• Tenant at sufferance, including occupants after a foreclosure. A person who never had any right to be there is a different matter: the 2024 Squatter Reform Act (HB 1017) made unlawful squatting a misdemeanor under § 16-7-21.1, gives the occupant three business days after a citation to produce documentation authorizing entry, and routes those cases through magistrate court rather than the dispossessory process.

Georgia has no just-cause law and prohibits local rent control. Retaliation for a code complaint or for exercising rights under the lease has been a defense since 2019 (§ 44-7-24), and the Safe at Home Act now makes habitability an implied term of every lease.

2. Notice before filing

• Nonpayment: written demand plus three business days. Georgia has always required a demand for possession before filing (§ 44-7-50(a)), and since July 1, 2024 the landlord must also give the tenant written notice and three business days to pay before filing a dispossessory for nonpayment (§ 44-7-50(c)). The notice is to vacate or pay all past due rent, late fees, utilities and other charges within three business days. How it is delivered is mandated: under § 44-7-50(d) it must be posted in a sealed envelope conspicuously on the door of the property, and also delivered by any additional method the lease specifies. Handing it over, mailing it or emailing it alone does not comply. State the amount owed and count business days only.
• Lease violations and holdovers. The demand for possession is still required, but no statutory cure period applies unless the lease provides one. The same delivery rule applies: § 44-7-50(d) requires the demand for possession to be posted in a sealed envelope on the door, plus any method the lease adds. Keep a dated photograph as proof.
• Ending a tenancy at will. 60 days' written notice from the landlord (§ 44-7-7).
• Federally covered properties. A federally backed mortgage or federal subsidy adds the CARES Act 30-day notice for nonpayment.

Do not accept rent after the demand unless you intend to start over; acceptance generally waives the demand for that period.

3. Filing the dispossessory affidavit

File a Dispossessory Affidavit (a sworn statement of the grounds and the amount owed) with the magistrate court in the county where the property sits. Filing fees run about $60 to $100 depending on the county, plus a service fee of about $25 to $50. The summons issues to the sheriff or a deputy, a lawful constable, or, since HB 270, the Eviction Service Act (2025), an approved process server, which is worth asking the clerk about in counties where service is slow. The summons and affidavit are served personally, on an adult resident, or by "tack and mail" (posting on the door and mailing) if personal service fails. In metro Atlanta the marshals typically serve within a week; Fulton County can take longer. One consequence of tack-and-mail service: if the tenant does not answer, the court may enter a default for possession but not a money judgment (§ 44-7-51(c)).

4. The tenant's seven days

The tenant has seven days from actual service to file an answer, which can be written or oral at the clerk's counter (§ 44-7-51). If the seventh day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the answer may be made on the next day that is not. If no answer is filed, you are entitled to a default writ of possession, which the clerk issues on request without a hearing. If the tenant answers, the court schedules a hearing, usually within one to three weeks.

Tender of rent. In a nonpayment case the tenant can stop the eviction once in any 12-month period by paying all rent owed plus court costs within seven days of service (§ 44-7-52). If the tenant has already used the tender in the past year, you are entitled to a writ even if they pay. Keep records of prior tenders.

5. The hearing

Hearings before the magistrate are short. Bring the lease, ledger, the demand and three-day notice with proof of delivery, and photographs for breach cases. Common defenses are that no demand was made or the three-day notice was skipped or miscounted, that rent was accepted after the demand, retaliation, and, since 2024, that the unit was not fit for habitation. If the tenant is still in possession during a contested case, remember that if the case cannot be finally decided within two weeks of service, a tenant who stays must pay rent into the court registry as it comes due (§ 44-7-54); a tenant who misses a registry payment can be removed immediately.

Judgment for possession, plus rent and any damages you proved, usually enters at the hearing.

6. Appeal, writ of possession and the set-out

Either side may appeal within seven days of the judgment. A tenant who appeals a nonpayment case must pay the judgment amount and ongoing rent into the registry to stay in possession. The Writ of Possession is effective seven days after the judgment, and the sheriff, constable or marshal executes it, generally within one to two weeks depending on county backlog. Two rules matter here. You must apply for execution within 30 days of the writ issuing, unless you file an affidavit showing good cause for the delay (§ 44-7-55(d), a rule that predates 2024). And since HB 1203 (Ga. L. 2024, Act 484), if the officer cannot execute within 14 days of your request, you may hire an off-duty sheriff, deputy, constable, marshal or other POST-certified officer to execute it at your own expense, after giving the original officer at least five calendar days’ written notice of the date and time (§ 44-7-55(e)). On the execution date the officer supervises removal of the occupants, and the tenant's belongings are placed outside the unit; Georgia imposes no storage duty after a writ. Only an officer may remove the tenant. Knowingly suspending utilities before the case is finally decided is an offense under § 44-7-14.1, punishable by a fine of up to $500, and the Safe at Home Act added cooling to the protected utilities. Changing the locks yourself is unlawful self-help and exposes you to civil liability for wrongful eviction.

Typical timeline

Step	Typical time
Demand and three-business-day notice	3 to 5 calendar days
Filing to service	3 to 10 days
Tenant's answer period	7 days
Hearing (if contested)	1 to 3 weeks
Appeal period	7 days
Writ of possession execution	1 to 2 weeks

An uncontested nonpayment case commonly takes four to six weeks from the demand to the set-out. Contested cases in Fulton and DeKalb counties often run eight to twelve weeks.

Recent law changes landlords should know

• Safe at Home Act, HB 404 (July 1, 2024). Three-business-day written notice before filing for nonpayment; implied warranty of habitability; security deposits capped at two months' rent; utilities including cooling may not be shut off before the case concludes.
• Eviction record sealing (effective January 1, 2027). SB 406 (2026) adds § 44-7-50(e): on motion and after a hearing, a court may make dispossessory records unavailable to the public where the tenant prevailed, where the judgment has been satisfied in full, or where seven years have passed and the judgment is paid.
• Process servers (July 1, 2025). HB 270 lets approved process servers serve dispossessory summonses.
• Out-of-state landlords (2025). HB 399 added § 44-7-25: a nonresident owner of single-family or duplex rentals must employ a Georgia-licensed broker, and an out-of-state broker must have at least one person in Georgia to handle tenant communications.
• Writ execution (HB 1203, Ga. L. 2024, Act 484, April 24, 2024). Off-duty officer option after 14 days, with five calendar days’ written notice to the original officer (§ 44-7-55(e)). The 30-day deadline to apply for execution in § 44-7-55(d) is older.
• Retaliation defense (2019). § 44-7-24 protects tenants who complain to code enforcement.
• Corporate landlords. Metro Atlanta courts have become stricter about proof of ownership and management authority; bring the deed or management agreement when the plaintiff is an entity.

When to bring in an attorney

Georgia's dispossessory process is simple enough that many landlords file their own nonpayment cases, and magistrate clerks provide the affidavit form. Hire counsel when the tenant answers with habitability or retaliation defenses, when the case involves a subsidy or a federally backed loan, when you are evicting after a foreclosure, and when you run enough units that a firm's flat-fee volume pricing beats your own time. The Georgia attorneys listed below represent landlords in the magistrate courts, with several focused on the metro Atlanta counties.

Sources

• O.C.G.A. Title 44, Chapter 7, including §§ 44-7-7, 44-7-13 (habitability, as amended 2024), 44-7-24, 44-7-49 to 44-7-59 (dispossessory proceedings), 44-7-52 (tender), 44-7-54 (rent into registry).
• HB 404 (2024), the Safe at Home Act; HB 1017 (2024), Squatter Reform Act; Ga. L. 2024, Act 484 (amending § 44-7-55); HB 270 (2025), Eviction Service Act; HB 399 (2025); SB 406 (2026). Also O.C.G.A. §§ 44-7-14.1, 44-7-25, 44-7-30.1 and 16-7-21.1.
• Georgia magistrate court dispossessory guides and fee schedules (Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Cobb).