Georgia Eviction Notice Laws: The Landlord and Tenant Guide
Demand for Possession · The Safe at Home 3-Day Nonpayment Notice · The Dispossessory · The 7-Day Answer · The Tender Defense · 60 and 30-Day Terminations
Georgia does not work like most eviction states, and getting that difference right is the whole game. There is no traditional pay-or-quit grace period on the books. Instead, before a landlord can file, the law requires a demand for possession under Official Code of Georgia Annotated section 44-7-50, and, for nonpayment on newer leases, a short three-business-day notice to pay added by the Safe at Home Act in 2024. If the tenant refuses, the landlord files a dispossessory affidavit, the tenant gets seven days to answer, and a nonpaying tenant can stop the case once a year by tendering everything owed. This guide walks the whole Georgia framework end to end — the demand, the newer nonpayment notice, terminating a month-to-month tenancy, filing the dispossessory, the seven-day answer, the tender defense, service, retaliation, and a landlord playbook — in plain English, with every rule tied to a statute and a concrete action.
The stakes are practical. Georgia is a procedure-driven eviction state: the landlord who follows the dispossessory statutes, sections 44-7-49 through 44-7-59, in order and to the letter wins the fast summary remedy, and the one who skips a step or resorts to self-help hands the tenant more time and, sometimes, damages. Because the rules changed materially in 2024 — the Safe at Home Act added the three-business-day nonpayment notice for leases entered or renewed on or after July 1, 2024 — treat every figure in this guide as a starting point and verify the current statute before you file anything.
Below, an overview video summarizes the Georgia framework; the sections that follow break down each piece — the demand for possession, the Safe at Home nonpayment notice, no just-cause but real procedure, terminating a tenancy at will, the dispossessory lawsuit and the seven-day answer, the tender defense, service and the writ, retaliation and defenses, the ban on self-help, and a landlord playbook — plus a Georgia-specific FAQ.
Georgia Eviction at a Glance
Before Filing
Demand for possession (section 44-7-50)
Nonpayment (newer leases)
3 business days to pay (Safe at Home)
Answer Window
7 days (section 44-7-51)
Month-to-Month
60 days landlord / 30 days tenant
Georgia Is Different: There Is No Ordinary Pay-or-Quit Period
The single most important thing to understand about Georgia eviction is what it does not have. Many states force a landlord to serve a fixed pay-or-quit notice — three days in Texas, five days in some states, fourteen days in New York — and wait out that clock before filing. Georgia has no such general statutory grace period. Instead, the Georgia mechanism is a demand for possession: under Official Code of Georgia Annotated section 44-7-50, when a landlord wants possession, the landlord demands it, and if the tenant refuses or fails to deliver possession, the landlord may proceed to file the dispossessory affidavit. The demand may be oral or written, and there is no statutory number of days the landlord must wait between the demand and the filing, unless a source of law or the lease supplies one.
That last clause matters, because two things can add a waiting period on top of the bare demand. First, the lease itself can require a specific notice or cure period, and if it does, the landlord must honor it. Second, and newer, the Safe at Home Act added a three-business-day notice to pay for nonpayment on covered leases, covered in the next section. Outside those two, a Georgia landlord who has made a proper demand for possession and been refused is not statutorily required to wait a set number of days before filing on a holdover.
Do not assume a Georgia “3-day notice” like other states
It is a common and costly mistake to treat Georgia like a three-day pay-or-quit state across the board. The traditional Georgia rule is the demand for possession, not a fixed statewide notice period, and the only across-the-board waiting period for nonpayment is the newer Safe at Home three-business-day notice on leases entered or renewed on or after July 1, 2024. Do not paste a California or Texas notice-period assumption onto a Georgia case. Identify the ground, check the lease date, and follow section 44-7-50.
Takeaway
Georgia has no ordinary pay-or-quit grace period. The mechanism is a demand for possession under section 44-7-50, which may be oral or written, followed by a dispossessory if the tenant refuses. The only across-the-board waiting period for nonpayment is the newer Safe at Home three-business-day notice on covered leases, plus whatever the lease itself requires.
The Demand for Possession Under Section 44-7-50
Every Georgia dispossessory begins with the demand for possession. Under Official Code of Georgia Annotated section 44-7-50, when a tenant holds over beyond the lease term, or holds as a tenant at will or at sufferance, and the owner wants the property back, the owner — personally or through an agent, attorney at law, or attorney in fact — may demand possession. If the tenant refuses or fails to deliver possession when demanded, the owner may immediately go before the magistrate, or other authorized judge or clerk, and make an affidavit under oath to the facts. That sworn affidavit is what launches the dispossessory.
Because the demand can be oral, a landlord can technically satisfy this step with a conversation. In practice, that is unwise. A written, dated demand — kept with proof of how and when it was delivered — gives the landlord something to show the magistrate and closes off a tenant’s argument that no demand was ever made. Georgia is procedure-driven, and an unprovable demand is a weak foundation for the affidavit that follows.
What the Demand Covers
The demand for possession is the trigger for both major grounds. For a holdover — a tenant who stays past the end of a term or past a proper termination of a tenancy at will — the demand asks the tenant to surrender the property, and refusal opens the door to the affidavit. For nonpayment, the demand is a demand for possession based on the tenant’s failure to pay, and, on covered leases, it is paired with the Safe at Home three-business-day notice to vacate or pay. In every case, the demand precedes the filing; a landlord who files a dispossessory without having demanded possession has skipped the statutory first step.
Put the demand in writing even though the statute allows oral
Section 44-7-50 permits an oral demand, but a written demand is the far safer practice. Date it, state clearly that you are demanding possession and, for nonpayment, the amount owed, and record how and when it reached the tenant. If the tenant later disputes that any demand occurred, a documented written demand is the difference between a clean affidavit and a contestable one.
Takeaway
The demand for possession under section 44-7-50 is the first step of every Georgia dispossessory. It may be oral or written, but a written, dated, documented demand is far safer. Only after the tenant refuses or fails to deliver possession may the landlord make the sworn affidavit that starts the case.
The Safe at Home Act: The Three-Business-Day Nonpayment Notice
The biggest recent change to Georgia eviction is the Safe at Home Act, House Bill 404, which took effect July 1, 2024. Among other tenant protections — minimum habitability standards and a cap on move-in security deposits for certain landlords — it amended the dispossessory framework to add a pre-filing notice for nonpayment. For a residential lease entered into or renewed on or after July 1, 2024, when a tenant fails to pay rent, late fees, utilities, or other charges owed under the lease, the landlord must first give the tenant a written notice to vacate or pay all amounts owed and allow three business days to pay before filing the dispossessory.
This is the closest thing Georgia now has to a pay-or-quit notice, but its scope is limited. It applies only to nonpayment, and only to covered leases — those entered or renewed on or after the effective date. A lease that predates July 1, 2024, and has not been renewed since is generally governed by the older framework, where the demand for possession alone opens the door to filing on nonpayment. Because coverage turns on the lease date, a landlord should confirm which framework a particular tenancy falls under before filing. When you calculate the amount owed for the notice, count only what the lease and Georgia law allow; our Georgia late-fee guide explains which late charges are collectible.
How the Notice Is Delivered
Under the Safe at Home procedure, the notice to vacate or pay is posted in a sealed envelope conspicuously on the door of the property, and delivered by any additional method the rental agreement specifies. If the tenant pays all past-due rent, late fees, utilities, and other charges within the three business days, the nonpayment ground is cured and the landlord may not proceed on it. Only if the tenant fails to pay within that window may the landlord move forward with the demand and dispossessory affidavit.
Check the lease date before you rely on — or skip — the three-day notice
The three-business-day nonpayment notice is tied to the lease, not the calendar of the eviction. A landlord who assumes it applies to every tenancy may wait unnecessarily on an older lease; a landlord who assumes it never applies may file too early on a lease signed or renewed after July 1, 2024, and hand the tenant a defense. Confirm when the lease was entered or last renewed, and follow the matching procedure.
Takeaway
The Safe at Home Act (House Bill 404), effective July 1, 2024, added a three-business-day notice to vacate or pay for nonpayment — but only for residential leases entered or renewed on or after that date. Pay within the three days and the ground is cured. Check the lease date to know whether the notice applies.
No Just Cause, But Real Procedure
Georgia does not impose a just-cause requirement. A landlord may decline to renew a fixed-term lease when it ends, or terminate a tenancy at will with proper notice, without proving a fault-based reason. In that narrow sense Georgia is landlord-friendly compared with just-cause states. But “no just cause” does not mean “no rules.” What Georgia demands instead is procedure: the correct ground stated in a sworn affidavit, the demand for possession, the newer nonpayment notice where it applies, proper filing and service, and the full dispossessory process before any removal.
Two outside limits still bind even a no-fault Georgia landlord. First, federal fair-housing law forbids an eviction motivated by a protected class such as race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability. Second, Georgia’s own anti-retaliation statute, section 44-7-24, forbids an eviction that punishes protected tenant activity, discussed below. Within those limits, the Georgia question is almost always procedural — did the landlord follow the dispossessory statutes correctly — not whether the landlord had a good enough reason.
Takeaway
Georgia requires no just cause — a landlord may end a tenancy at will or decline to renew without a fault-based reason — but it requires strict procedure. Federal fair-housing law and Georgia’s retaliation statute, section 44-7-24, still bind even a no-fault eviction.
Ending a Month-to-Month Tenancy: Section 44-7-7
When there is no lease violation and no nonpayment — the landlord simply wants a month-to-month tenant to move — the vehicle is a termination of the tenancy at will under Official Code of Georgia Annotated section 44-7-7. The statute sets two different lengths depending on who is ending the tenancy: 60 days’ notice from the landlord, and 30 days’ notice from the tenant. The imbalance is deliberate; the landlord must give the longer period.
An important sequencing point: the 60-day termination notice ends the tenancy, but it does not by itself authorize a dispossessory or remove the tenant. If the tenant stays past the termination date, the landlord is back to section 44-7-50 — the landlord must demand possession, and only on refusal may the landlord file the dispossessory affidavit as a holdover. In other words, the 60-day notice and the demand for possession are two separate steps, and the landlord needs both when a month-to-month tenant refuses to leave. For how a fixed-term tenancy ends and the notice a tenant must give to break a lease early, see our Georgia lease termination guide.
| Who ends the tenancy at will | Notice required | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Landlord | 60 days’ written notice | Official Code of Georgia Annotated section 44-7-7 |
| Tenant | 30 days’ written notice | Official Code of Georgia Annotated section 44-7-7 |
Fixed-term leases end differently
Section 44-7-7 governs the tenancy at will — the classic month-to-month. A fixed-term lease generally ends on its own stated date, and a landlord who does not want to renew usually need not give a 44-7-7 notice, though the lease may set its own renewal or notice terms. If a fixed-term tenant holds over after the term expires, the landlord again demands possession under section 44-7-50 and, on refusal, files the dispossessory. Read the lease for any renewal or holdover clause.
Takeaway
To end a month-to-month tenancy at will, section 44-7-7 requires 60 days’ notice from the landlord and 30 days from the tenant. The termination notice ends the tenancy but does not remove the tenant — a holdover still requires a demand for possession and a dispossessory.
The Dispossessory Lawsuit and the 7-Day Answer
If the tenant refuses to deliver possession after a proper demand — and, on covered leases, after the three-business-day nonpayment notice runs — the landlord’s next and only lawful step is to file the dispossessory, Georgia’s summary eviction action. The landlord makes the dispossessory affidavit under section 44-7-50, stating the grounds and demanding possession; a summons issues; and the tenant is served. The action is typically filed in the magistrate court of the county where the property is located, though certain state and superior courts also have jurisdiction.
The Seven-Day Answer
Once served, the tenant has a tight window to respond. Under Official Code of Georgia Annotated section 44-7-51, the tenant must answer — orally or in writing — within seven days from the date of actual service. If the seventh day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the tenant may answer on the next business day. The answer may raise any legal or equitable defense or a counterclaim. If the tenant does not answer within the seven days, the landlord may seek a writ of possession by default, so the seven-day window is critical for tenants and a key date for landlords to calendar.
Demand possession (and give any required notice)
Make the demand for possession under section 44-7-50. For nonpayment on a lease entered or renewed on or after July 1, 2024, first give the three-business-day notice to vacate or pay under the Safe at Home Act. For a holdover month-to-month, first terminate with the 60-day notice under section 44-7-7.
File the dispossessory affidavit
After the tenant refuses or fails to deliver possession, make the sworn affidavit stating the grounds and demanding possession, typically in the magistrate court for the county. A summons issues.
Serve the tenant
A sheriff, constable, or authorized process server delivers the summons and affidavit to the tenant. Proper service triggers the tenant’s deadline to answer.
Tenant answers within seven days
Under section 44-7-51, the tenant has seven days from actual service to answer, orally or in writing, extended to the next business day if the seventh day is a weekend or holiday. No answer allows the landlord to seek a default.
Hearing, judgment, and writ
If the tenant answers, the magistrate court sets a hearing where the landlord must prove every element. If the landlord prevails and any appeal window passes, the court issues a writ of possession that the sheriff or constable — not the landlord — executes.
Only the sheriff or constable can remove a tenant
A judgment for possession does not let the landlord change the locks personally. The court issues a writ of possession to the sheriff or constable, who carries out the removal and restores possession to the landlord. A losing tenant generally has seven days to appeal, and the writ issues after that window. Any shortcut around this — a lockout, a utility shutoff, removing belongings — is an illegal self-help eviction.
Takeaway
After the demand, the only lawful path is a dispossessory, usually in magistrate court. The tenant has seven days to answer under section 44-7-51, extended past a weekend or holiday. If the landlord wins, a writ of possession is executed by the sheriff or constable — never by the landlord.
The Tender Defense: Paying to Stay, Once a Year
Georgia gives a nonpaying tenant one powerful, time-limited lifeline. Under Official Code of Georgia Annotated section 44-7-52, in an action for nonpayment of rent, the tenant may tender to the landlord, within seven days of being served with the dispossessory summons, all rent allegedly owed plus the cost of the dispossessory warrant. Such a tender is a complete defense to the action — the eviction cannot proceed on that nonpayment.
The catch is frequency. A landlord is required to accept such a tender, after a dispossessory summons has issued, only once in any twelve-month period per tenant. A tenant who used the tender defense within the past year to stop an eviction cannot force the landlord to accept a late payment a second time in that window; the landlord may proceed. This once-a-year structure is a defining feature of Georgia nonpayment practice: the first late-and-cured episode buys the tenant a full defense, but the second within twelve months does not.
Tender must be the full amount, and it is once per twelve months
To qualify as a complete defense, the tender under section 44-7-52 must cover all rent allegedly owed plus the cost of the dispossessory warrant, not a partial payment, and it must come within seven days of service. And it works only once in a twelve-month period per tenant. A tenant relying on tender should pay in full and keep proof; a landlord facing a second tender within a year from the same tenant is generally not required to accept it.
Takeaway
Under section 44-7-52, a nonpaying tenant may tender all rent owed plus the warrant cost within seven days of service as a complete defense — but a landlord must accept such a tender only once in any twelve-month period. The first cured episode stops the case; a second within a year need not.
Serving Notices and the Dispossessory
Two different service steps matter in a Georgia eviction, and it helps to keep them straight. The first is delivering the landlord’s own documents — the demand for possession and, where it applies, the Safe at Home three-business-day notice. The second is service of the dispossessory itself once it is filed, which is handled by the court’s process, not the landlord.
| What is served | How | Who does it |
|---|---|---|
| Demand for possession (section 44-7-50) | Oral or written; a written, dated, documented demand is far safer | The landlord or an agent, attorney at law, or attorney in fact |
| Safe at Home nonpayment notice | Posted in a sealed envelope conspicuously on the door, plus any method the lease specifies | The landlord (covered leases only) |
| The dispossessory summons and affidavit | Personal or authorized service under Georgia court process | A sheriff, constable, or authorized process server |
For the landlord’s own documents, keep proof. Even where the statute allows an oral demand, a documented written demand and a retained copy of the Safe at Home notice protect the landlord if the tenant later disputes that notice was given. For the dispossessory summons, service is the court’s job, but the landlord should confirm that proper service occurred, because service is what starts the seven-day answer clock — and an unprovable service can unravel a default.
Posting on an exterior door alone can be a defective delivery
The Safe at Home nonpayment notice is posted in a sealed envelope conspicuously on the door and delivered by any additional method the lease provides. Simply taping an open notice to an exterior door, with nothing more, is the kind of sloppy delivery a tenant can challenge. Follow the posting-plus-any-lease-method procedure, and keep a record of how and when the notice went up.
Takeaway
Keep the two service steps straight: the landlord delivers the demand and any Safe at Home notice and should document both, while a sheriff, constable, or process server serves the dispossessory summons. Proper service of the summons is what starts the seven-day answer clock, so confirm it before seeking a default.
Retaliation and Tenant Defenses
Even a landlord with a real ground can lose if the eviction runs into a defense. Two categories matter most in Georgia: retaliation under section 44-7-24, and the procedural and factual defenses a tenant can raise at the hearing.
Retaliation Under Section 44-7-24
Georgia’s anti-retaliation law, enacted by House Bill 346 in 2019 and codified at Official Code of Georgia Annotated section 44-7-24, protects tenants who exercise legal rights about health, safety, or habitability. A tenant establishes a prima-facie case by showing a protected action — complaining in good faith to a government agency responsible for building or housing codes or to a public utility, giving the landlord a notice to repair, or exercising a legal remedy under the chapter — followed within three months by a prohibited landlord action, such as filing an eviction. Retaliation is a defense to a dispossessory, and a tenant may recover a civil penalty of one month’s rent plus 500 dollars, court costs, and, where the landlord’s conduct is willful, wanton, or malicious, reasonable attorney fees. The law excepts an eviction filed for nonpayment of rent or a serious lease violation.
Do not confuse the Safe at Home Act with the retaliation law
Two different bills often get conflated. The Safe at Home Act is House Bill 404 of 2024 — habitability standards, a deposit cap, and the three-business-day nonpayment notice. The anti-retaliation law is House Bill 346 of 2019, section 44-7-24. Different years, different subjects. Retaliation is not the “Safe at Home Act,” and treating them as the same rule invites error.
The Common Tenant Defenses
- No demand for possession. If the landlord never demanded possession under section 44-7-50 before filing, the affidavit rests on a skipped step.
- Missing or defective Safe at Home notice. On a covered lease, filing on nonpayment without the three-business-day notice to vacate or pay is a procedural defect.
- Timely tender. A nonpaying tenant’s full tender within seven days of service, once in twelve months, is a complete defense under section 44-7-52.
- No answer needed to appear. A tenant who answers within seven days and appears forces the landlord to prove every element; the fastest landlord win is a tenant who never responds.
- Habitability. Since the Safe at Home Act, Georgia sets minimum habitability standards, and a landlord’s failure to maintain the unit can support a defense or counterclaim.
- Retaliation. An eviction within three months of protected tenant activity is presumptively retaliatory under section 44-7-24, outside the nonpayment and serious-violation exceptions.
- Improper service or wrong party. Bad service, the wrong tenant, or the wrong property can each defeat or delay the case.
Showing up is the tenant’s biggest lever
The fastest path to a landlord judgment is a tenant who never answers within the seven days — a default. A tenant who answers on time and appears at the hearing forces the landlord to prove every element and opens the door to all of these defenses. For landlords, the lesson is the mirror image: assume the tenant will appear and contest, and make sure the demand, any notice, the filing, and the service are flawless.
Takeaway
An eviction within three months of protected tenant activity is presumptively retaliatory under section 44-7-24 (except nonpayment or serious violations), with a penalty of one month’s rent plus 500 dollars. A missing demand, a missing Safe at Home notice, a timely tender, and bad service are all live defenses. The landlord’s best protection is flawless procedure.
No Self-Help: Lockouts Are Illegal
One rule admits no exceptions: in Georgia, a landlord may never remove a tenant by self-help, no matter how far behind the rent is or how egregious the conduct. A landlord may not change the locks, shut off water, gas, or electricity, remove doors or windows, or take a tenant’s belongings in order to force a move. The only lawful way to remove a tenant is the dispossessory process ending in a court-ordered writ of possession that a sheriff or constable executes.
The consequences of a self-help lockout are steep and personal to the landlord. A landlord who resorts to self-help exposes the landlord to liability for the tenant’s damages, and can convert a routine, winnable eviction into a lawsuit the landlord loses and pays for. The disciplined path — demand, any required notice, dispossessory, judgment, and a sheriff-executed writ — is not just the lawful path; it is the one that actually gets the property back without new liability.
Takeaway
Self-help eviction is illegal in Georgia: no lock changes, no utility shutoffs, no removing belongings. A landlord who tries it risks liability for the tenant’s damages. The only lawful removal is a sheriff- or constable-executed writ of possession after a dispossessory judgment.
The Georgia Landlord Playbook
Put the whole framework into a repeatable sequence and a Georgia eviction becomes a disciplined, winnable process instead of a gamble. Follow these steps every time.
Pin down the ground and the right first step
Decide whether this is nonpayment or a holdover. For a month-to-month holdover, terminate the tenancy at will with the 60-day notice under section 44-7-7. For nonpayment, calculate the exact amount owed and check the lease date.
Give the Safe at Home notice if the lease is covered
If the lease was entered or renewed on or after July 1, 2024, serve the three-business-day notice to vacate or pay for nonpayment, posted in a sealed envelope on the door plus any method the lease requires, before filing.
Make a clear demand for possession
Demand possession under section 44-7-50 — in writing, dated, and documented, even though the statute allows oral. Only after the tenant refuses or fails to deliver possession may you file.
File the dispossessory and let the clocks run
File the affidavit in the correct magistrate court, ensure proper service, and let the seven-day answer window under section 44-7-51 and any tender under section 44-7-52 run before seeking a writ.
Win, then let the officer execute the writ
Prove every element at the hearing, wait out the appeal window, then request the writ of possession and let the sheriff or constable execute it. Never resort to self-help.
Need the notice itself?
A ready-to-fill notice keeps the required fields in place. See our free Georgia notice to cure or quit form for a lease-violation notice, and our Georgia eviction process overview for the step-by-step dispossessory walkthrough. Always tailor the details to your unit and verify current law before you serve or file.
Defensible Versus Fatal: Common Scenarios
✓ Usually Defensible
- Documented demand plus dispossessory. A written, dated demand for possession under section 44-7-50, refused, then a proper affidavit and service.
- Safe at Home notice honored. For nonpayment on a covered lease, the three-business-day notice to vacate or pay given before filing, with proof.
- Clean 60-day termination. A 60-day notice under section 44-7-7 to a month-to-month tenant, followed by a demand and dispossessory when the tenant holds over.
- Officer-executed writ. Waiting for judgment and the appeal window, then letting the sheriff or constable execute the writ — never a personal lockout.
✕ Likely Fatal
- No demand. Filing the dispossessory without ever demanding possession under section 44-7-50.
- Skipped Safe at Home notice. Filing on nonpayment on a lease entered or renewed after July 1, 2024, without the three-business-day notice.
- Ignoring a valid tender. Refusing a full, timely, first-in-twelve-months tender under section 44-7-52.
- Self-help lockout. Changing the locks, shutting off utilities, or removing belongings instead of using the dispossessory and writ.
The Best Eviction Is the One You Never File
Most eviction disputes trace back to a tenant who showed red flags before move-in. Comprehensive credit, income, and eviction-history reports catch prior evictions and payment problems before you ever sign a lease.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Georgia require a pay-or-quit notice period before eviction?
Not in the way most states do. Georgia has no traditional statutory pay-or-quit grace period. Before filing, a landlord must make a demand for possession under Official Code of Georgia Annotated section 44-7-50, and that demand may be oral or written. For nonpayment, the Safe at Home Act (House Bill 404), effective July 1, 2024, added a requirement that for residential leases entered into or renewed on or after that date, the landlord give the tenant a written notice to vacate or pay all past-due rent, late fees, utilities, and other charges within three business days before filing the dispossessory. A lease can also set its own notice terms. Older-framework leases carry no such statutory wait. Always verify current law before filing.
How long does a Georgia tenant have to answer a dispossessory?
Seven days. Under Official Code of Georgia Annotated section 44-7-51, once the tenant is served with the dispossessory summons, the tenant has seven days from the date of actual service to answer, orally or in writing. If the seventh day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the answer may be made on the next business day. The answer may raise any legal or equitable defense or a counterclaim. If the tenant does not answer within the seven days, the landlord may seek a writ of possession by default, so the seven-day window is critical for tenants.
Can a Georgia tenant stop the eviction by paying what is owed?
Yes, once. Under the tender rule in Official Code of Georgia Annotated section 44-7-52, in a nonpayment action the tenant may tender to the landlord, within seven days of being served with the summons, all rent allegedly owed plus the cost of the dispossessory warrant, and that tender is a complete defense. But the landlord is required to accept such a tender after a dispossessory summons has issued only once in any twelve-month period per tenant. A tenant who has already used the tender defense within the past year cannot force the landlord to take a late payment a second time.
How much notice ends a month-to-month tenancy in Georgia?
Under Official Code of Georgia Annotated section 44-7-7, a tenancy at will, which includes a typical month-to-month arrangement, ends on 60 days’ notice from the landlord or 30 days’ notice from the tenant. The lengths are deliberately different: the landlord must give the longer 60 days, while the tenant needs only 30. Ending the tenancy does not by itself remove the tenant. If the tenant stays past the termination date, the landlord still must demand possession under section 44-7-50 and, if the tenant refuses, file a dispossessory. The 60-day notice does not authorize a filing on its own.
Where are Georgia evictions filed?
A Georgia dispossessory is typically filed in the magistrate court of the county where the property is located, though certain state or superior courts also have jurisdiction. The landlord files a dispossessory affidavit stating the grounds and demanding possession, a summons issues, and a sheriff, constable, or authorized process server serves the tenant. The magistrate court then sets the matter for hearing. Georgia procedure is set by Official Code of Georgia Annotated sections 44-7-49 through 44-7-59, the dispossessory statutes.
Can a Georgia landlord change the locks or shut off utilities to force a tenant out?
No. Self-help eviction is unlawful in Georgia. A landlord may not change the locks, shut off water, gas, or electricity, remove doors or windows, or take a tenant’s belongings to force a move. The only lawful way to remove a tenant is the dispossessory process ending in a court-ordered writ of possession, which a sheriff or constable executes. A landlord who resorts to self-help exposes the landlord to liability for the tenant’s damages and can turn a winnable eviction into a lawsuit the landlord loses. There is no lawful eviction in Georgia without the court process.
Does Georgia require just cause to evict?
No. Georgia does not impose a just-cause requirement. A landlord may decline to renew a fixed-term lease or end a tenancy at will with the proper 60-day notice under Official Code of Georgia Annotated section 44-7-7, without proving a fault-based reason. What Georgia does require is procedure: the correct notice or demand, a lawful ground stated in the affidavit for nonpayment or holdover, and the full dispossessory process. Federal fair-housing law still forbids an eviction based on a protected class, and state retaliation law under section 44-7-24 forbids an eviction that punishes protected tenant activity.
What is a dispossessory warrant in Georgia?
The dispossessory is Georgia’s eviction lawsuit. The landlord files a dispossessory affidavit under Official Code of Georgia Annotated section 44-7-50, a summons issues, and the tenant is served. If the tenant does not answer within seven days under section 44-7-51, or loses at the hearing, the court issues a writ of possession. The writ directs the sheriff or constable, not the landlord, to remove the tenant and restore possession. A tenant may generally appeal within seven days of the judgment, and the writ issues after that window. The landlord never carries out the removal personally.
Is Georgia’s Safe at Home Act the same as the anti-retaliation law?
No, and it is important not to confuse them. The Safe at Home Act is House Bill 404, effective July 1, 2024, which set minimum habitability standards, capped move-in security deposits for certain landlords, and added the three-business-day notice to vacate or pay for nonpayment on newer leases. The anti-retaliation law is separate: it is House Bill 346 of 2019, codified at Official Code of Georgia Annotated section 44-7-24, which forbids a landlord from evicting or otherwise punishing a tenant for exercising protected rights. Different bills, different years, different subjects.
Can a Georgia landlord evict in retaliation?
No. Under Official Code of Georgia Annotated section 44-7-24, enacted by House Bill 346 in 2019, a tenant establishes a prima-facie case of retaliation by showing a protected action, such as complaining in good faith to a code or housing agency, giving the landlord a notice to repair, or exercising a legal remedy about a health, safety, or habitability concern, followed within three months by a prohibited landlord action such as filing an eviction. Retaliation is a defense to a dispossessory, and a tenant may recover a civil penalty of one month’s rent plus 500 dollars, court costs, and, where the conduct is willful, attorney fees. Filing for nonpayment or a serious lease violation is excepted.
How does the three-business-day notice under the Safe at Home Act work?
For residential leases entered into or renewed on or after July 1, 2024, when a tenant fails to pay rent, late fees, utilities, or other charges owed, the landlord must first provide a written notice to vacate or pay all amounts owed and give the tenant three business days to pay before filing the dispossessory. The notice is posted in a sealed envelope conspicuously on the door of the property and delivered by any additional method the lease specifies. If the tenant pays within the three business days, the ground for nonpayment is cured. Because the requirement is tied to the lease date, a landlord should confirm whether a particular lease is covered.
How long does a Georgia eviction take?
A straightforward, uncontested Georgia dispossessory commonly runs about thirty to sixty days from the demand to the writ, but the range is wide. After the demand for possession and, where it applies, the three-business-day nonpayment notice, the landlord files the affidavit, the tenant is served and has seven days to answer under section 44-7-51, the magistrate court sets a hearing, and a losing tenant generally has seven days to appeal before the writ issues. Court backlog, a contested hearing, a timely tender under section 44-7-52, or an appeal can extend the timeline well beyond sixty days. Treat any single number as a rough estimate.
What is the safest way for a Georgia landlord to start an eviction?
Pin down the ground first. For a holdover, terminate the tenancy at will with the 60-day notice under section 44-7-7. For nonpayment, calculate the exact amount owed, and if the lease was entered or renewed on or after July 1, 2024, serve the three-business-day notice to vacate or pay under the Safe at Home Act. Then make a clear demand for possession under section 44-7-50. If the tenant refuses, file the dispossessory affidavit in the correct magistrate court, serve it properly, and let the seven-day answer window and any tender run before seeking a writ. Never resort to self-help, and let the sheriff or constable execute the writ.
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