The Magistrate Court has jurisdiction to hear landlord-tenant disputes which includes dispossessory proceedings. A dispossessory action refers to eviction proceedings brought by a landlord against a tenant. A writ of possession is issued to evict an occupant from the property. The dispossessory complaint is filed under oath by the owner (landlord), testifying to the unlawful possession of the owners property by a tenant. The relationship between the parties must be Landlord and Tenant. The Tenant must be either a Tenant holding over, Tenant at will, a Tenant at sufferance, one not paying rent as it becomes due, or otherwise breaching the conditions of the rental agreement. The Landlord must have made a demand for possession of the premises prior to commencement of the proceedings. Those who consider themselves "agents" of the landlord must comply with Rule 31.

Once a tenant has been served with the Landlord-Tenant (Dispossessory) Affidavit, the tenant has seven (7) days from the date of service to file an answer with our court. If the tenant does not file an answer an eviction may be requested on the eighth (8th) day. If the tenant files an answer, a court date will be set and the plaintiff will be notified by mail of the court date.  Once a writ of possession is issued, an eviction must be requested within thirty (30) days of the date of service or a newLandlord-Tenant (Dispossessory) Affidavit must be filed.

You may use the Magistrate Court Guide and File system to draft your Landlord-Tenant (Dispossessory) Affidavit or Answer. Access the Magistrate Court Guide and file System online or use the forms provided.  

Forms are in pdf format. You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader or other pdf reader program in order to use these forms.

Landlord-Tenant (Dispossessory) Affidavit

Landlord-Tenant (Dispossessory) Answer

Confirm the service address is in Fulton County. Plaintiff(s) must confirm the address for service is in Fulton County. The Marshal's Department will not issue a refund of a service fee if the Marshal's Department determines the address for service is not in Fulton County. Below are websites that may be used to confirm an address is in Fulton County. The Marshal's Department assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided by these websites.

USPS https://tools.usps.com/go/ZipLookupAction!input.action
Fulton County Tax Assessor https://qpublic.schneidercorp.com/

Additional Resources

The Judges and staff of the Magistrate Court cannot provide legal advice. For answers to any questions you may have, please contact Georgia Legal Aid. You may also want to review the Georgia Landlord-Tenant Handbook, provided by the State of Georgia Department of Community Affairs. While this publication may be helpful to both landlords and tenants, it should not be a substitute for professional legal advice. This Handbook contains information on Georgia landlord-tenant law as of June 2012 and, as such, may not reflect the status of Georgia law.

Free or reduced cost legal assistance for low-income persons is available through either the Atlanta Legal Aid Society, the Georgia Legal Services Program, or the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation.

Magistrate Courts Free Forms Generator

This program is provided free by the Council of Magistrate Court Judges for the public to use and print forms. The program guides the user by questions and providing background information and definitions. At the end, the user may print off a form to take the Magistrate Court and file. If a county has E filing available, that option will be available at the end of the program. Users may incur a fee for using E filing rather than filing in person.