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The Georgia Dispossessory Reference
Practice · Procedure · Perspective
Module 01 · Foundation

The statute and what it does.

This module frames the Georgia dispossessory statute as a designed system. The goal is not to memorize sections but to understand what O.C.G.A. § 44-7-50 et seq. is built to do and where its design creates the pressure points every later module will return to.

Reading · 14 minReview questions · 5Prerequisite · none

Learning objectives

  • Place dispossessory within the broader landlord-tenant framework in Title 44 of the Georgia Code.
  • Identify the three structural features of the statute that shape every case.
  • Distinguish Magistrate Court practice from civil practice in State or Superior Court.
  • Read a short statutory section and identify the operative verbs and actors.

1.1   Where dispossessory lives in the code.

Title 44 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated governs property. Article 3 of Chapter 7 of Title 44 — O.C.G.A. § 44-7-50 through § 44-7-59 — is the dispossessory article. It is the proceeding by which a landlord, having demanded possession and been refused, obtains a court order for possession. Other articles of Chapter 7 address different questions: repair obligations (§ 44-7-13), security deposits (§ 44-7-30 et seq.), and several specialized contexts.

Keeping these articles distinct matters. A tenant's security-deposit claim is not a dispossessory defense in the strict sense, but it is a counterclaim that often rides along with one. A landlord's duty-to-repair obligation is not a ground for dispossessory, but the breach of it is a substantive defense. Reading the chapter as a whole, rather than one article in isolation, is the first discipline this course asks of you.

1.2   Three features that shape every case.

The statute is short by design, and three structural features recur through every case filed under it.

1.2.1   The jurisdictional demand.

Under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-50(a), a landlord must demand possession before filing. Without the demand, the court has no case to decide. This is not a formality. It is the gate into the court, and the failure to satisfy it is the most common reason contested dispossessory actions are dismissed. Practitioners often call this step the “3-day demand” — a working label, not a statutory term, but a useful shorthand for the short documented window that precedes the filing.

1.2.2   The seven-day answer window.

After service, a tenant has seven days to file an answer. Not thirty days. Not fourteen days. Seven. Everything in the statute is organized around that compressed timeline. A tenant who does not answer will not be heard; a landlord who expects a thirty-day schedule is working from the wrong statute.

1.2.3   The split between possession and money.

The statute authorizes two different judgments on different evidentiary bases. A possession judgment issues on any lawful service — personal, or tack-and-mail under § 44-7-51(b). A money judgment for past-due rent issues only on personal service. This split has strategic consequences for both sides that cannot be understood without holding the rule in mind at all times.

1.3   Magistrate Court is not ordinary civil court.

Most dispossessory cases in Georgia are filed in Magistrate Court. Magistrate practice is summary: short hearings, limited discovery, and an emphasis on resolving the matter in front of the judge rather than through extensive pre-trial motions. Where a case is appealed to State or Superior Court under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-56, the procedure shifts and becomes more formal. Both layers matter, but the first layer is where most outcomes are decided.

1.4   A note on self-help.

Georgia does not permit landlord self-help in residential tenancies. Changing locks, removing belongings, and interrupting utilities are unlawful, and they expose the landlord to liability that can exceed the rent at issue. The dispossessory statute exists, in part, because self-help is prohibited. A landlord using the statute is using the only lawful pathway available. That framing is worth internalizing before reading further.

Takeaways. The statute is short, strict, and designed around three features: a jurisdictional demand, a seven-day answer, and a split between possession and money judgments. Every other module returns to these three features.

1.5   Review

What makes a demand for possession "jurisdictional" rather than merely procedural?
A jurisdictional requirement is one without which the court lacks authority to decide the case. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-50(a), the demand is a condition precedent to the filing; without it, the court cannot proceed.
From what date is the seven-day answer period counted?
From the date of service of the summons on the tenant. Not from the date the tenant saw the summons, and not from the filing date.
Name one consequence of tack-and-mail service that personal service does not share.
Tack-and-mail service supports a possession judgment but does not support a money judgment for past-due rent. Personal service is required for the money judgment.
Where are most dispossessory cases initially filed in Georgia?
In the Magistrate Court of the county where the premises are located.
Why is landlord self-help unlawful in Georgia?
Because the dispossessory statute establishes the exclusive lawful pathway for removing a tenant. Locking out, utility shutoff, and removal of belongings circumvent that pathway and expose the landlord to damages.
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Educational publication. This material is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Georgia landlord-tenant law and court procedure change; any reader facing a pending matter should consult qualified Georgia counsel before acting.