Will I Get Evicted?
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How long before eviction in Georgia?

Tenant protection: Not yet rated3 of 9 checked

Tenant protection rating, from nine protections in Georgia law. 6 not yet verified, and each counts as zero until it is. How the rating works.

Last verified 2026-09-23

Law change in effect or pending. Senate Bill 406 (2026), signed by the governor, adds a new O.C.G.A. § 44-7-50(e) letting a court seal the record of a dispossessory case after a hearing, once the tenant has won the case, has paid the judgment in full, or seven years have passed since a dismissal or a paid judgment. This change takes effect January 1, 2027 and does not change the notice, court, or writ timing described here.

From notice to removal

Each stage has its own timing. A landlord notice alone does not authorize removal.

  1. 01
    Notice

    3 business days

  2. 02
    Court stage

    Timing not verified

  3. 03
    Writ wait

    7 days before execution

  4. 04
    Removal

    Enforcement follows a court order

At a glance

Grace period before a late fee
Not verified
Late fee cap
Not verified
Pay-or-quit notice
3 business days
A landlord who is owed rent, late fees, utilities, or other charges may serve a written notice giving the tenant three business days to pay or move out. This three-day notice applies only to a residential lease entered into or renewed on or after July 1, 2024. For an older lease that has not been renewed since that date, the landlord instead uses the separate demand-for-possession procedure in the same Code section: the landlord may demand possession at any time after rent is due, and if the tenant refuses or fails to hand over possession, the landlord may go to court immediately, with no fixed notice period stated in the statute. The notice or demand must be posted in a sealed envelope on the door and delivered by any additional method the lease requires. The statute does not say whether a lease may set a shorter or longer notice period, does not set a different rule for a tenant's first late payment, and no city notice overlay was found.
Recorded court-stage timing
Not verified
Wait before the writ can be executed
7 days
Can paying stop it before judgment?
Yes
Can paying stop it after judgment?
Not verified
Lockouts without a court order banned?
Not verified
Georgia's landlord and tenant chapter does not generally ban a landlord from taking possession without going through the courts. It bans one specific kind of self-help: while a dispossessory case is pending, a landlord may not knowingly and willfully cut off a tenant's heat, cooling, light, or water before the case is finally decided, and doing so is a crime punishable by a fine of up to $500.
Record sealing available?
Not verified
Right to counsel
Not verified
Fastest lawful timeline
17 daysNot independently verified. Figure from the Eviction Research Network's state eviction timeframes dataset, as of 2026-07-13. We have not yet checked it against the statutes.
Not legal advice. This page reports what the state statute says as of the last-verified date. It does not describe how a particular court applies it, and it does not account for your lease, local ordinances, or the facts of your case. If you have received a notice or a court summons, contact a legal aid organization listed below.

Can I stop it by paying?

Before judgment: Yes. A tenant may pay the landlord all rent owed plus the cost of the dispossessory warrant within seven days of being served the eviction summons, and that payment is a complete defense to the case. A landlord only has to accept this payment from the same tenant once in any 12 month period.

After judgment: Not verified.

Behind on utilities in Georgia too? See Georgia's shutoff protection rules.

Where to get help

Sources