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Question about eviction law in GA

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sophist2011

Junior Member
I'm a Georgia resident. I live in Dekalb county specifically. Last week I received a dissposserary(sp?) warrant from the Clerk's office. I contacted my landlord, and she's agreed that if I pay the rent + late fees + court fees the eviction process will stop. However, my landlord has now informed me that since they closed their February books yesterday, I now must pay the February rent, February late fees, and court fees plus March's rent. I have the money to pay for February's rent, late fees, and court fees. I also missed my answer in court because I was under the impression that I would have the funds to pay the rent, late fees, and court fees. So I didn't show in court. I called the Clerk's office, they informed me I have about a week before my stuff ends up on the streets. I have offered to pay February rent, late fees, and court fees, but the landlord says I must pay it all at once now, and won't accept just February and the related fees. The dissposserarry warrent just has February's rent on it. From what I have read, this is my first eviction, and with accordance to GA law, shouldn't the landlord take my check, and allow me to pay March rent when it becomes March?

What should I do?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
 


Gail in Georgia

Senior Member
Georgia does allow a tenant to do a "settlement" to avoid an eviction but it must be done within 7 days of receiving the summons. This can only be done once in a 12 month period:

EVICTIONS AND DISPOSSESSIONS

What you should have done is either pay within this deadline or show up for the court hearing with the money for the rent, the late fees and the filing fees and request that the landlord accept this and do all of this in front of the magistrate.

Since you didn't show up for the hearing, your landlord won their judgement for eviction.

Your landlord does not believe you'll have the money for March's rent and doesn't want to go through the hassle of again filing for an eviction on you. At this point they are not legally obligated to accept ANY money from you and can simply sit back and wait for the actual date of eviction.

If you wish to avoid this, pay what you owe plus March's rent (after all, we're nearly at the end of February anyway).

Gail
 

sophist2011

Junior Member
Is that legal though? Right now I can't afford two months worth of rent. I don't want to end up on the streets. My landlord is adamant about this. Is my only option to take out some sort of loan and pay the rent, or do I have some way to pay just February's rent, late fees, and court fees?
 

Gail in Georgia

Senior Member
I don't think you understand that right now, you're about 7 to 10 days away from sitting out on the curb with all your possessions. Again, your landlord no longer has to accept ANY money you offer them for rent, late fees, court fees. Unless THEY contact the Marshalls office requesting that the eviction process be discontinued, it will happen.

You lost any legal chance when you didn't show up for the court hearing.

When the Marshalls Office comes to handle the eviction they're not going to care what reasoning you tell them as to why they shouldn't go on with this eviction. They're only present to oversee the process.

Beg, borrow, get a loan, whatever or face going through the actual eviction.

Gail
 

sandyclaus

Senior Member
Is that legal though? Right now I can't afford two months worth of rent. I don't want to end up on the streets. My landlord is adamant about this. Is my only option to take out some sort of loan and pay the rent, or do I have some way to pay just February's rent, late fees, and court fees?
You can't afford March's rent? Well, that admission explains why the LL took the position they did before the court hearing. Even if they agreed to stop the eviction on the current month, had you paid that, you would still be in the very same position for March (rent being due for that anyway in 4 days).

Sounds to me like you are trying every stop gap measure you can to avoid being evicted, and you blew it by not showing up in court. Had you paid for February and showed up in court, you could have at least delayed the inevitable (although IMHO, you would have been right back there when your March rent came up missing again).

What's done is done now. With the hearing come and gone, and the dispossessory warrant issued now, you really have no other choice but to pay what's owed while you still can, or move in a very short amount of time - or wait for the sheriff to show up and "help" you out the door. I'm figuring that you clearly cannot afford your rental and need to cut your losses and just move on.
 
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sophist2011

Junior Member
I can afford March's rent, just not until the end of this week (I would have enough funds to cover my late rent + court fees + March rent). That's been my problem, I haven't been able to get the funds in time. I've lived in this same apartment since December '08. This is my first time ever facing eviction. However, waiting for my next direct deposit for work seems to be a non-option at this juncture. So from here, if I move out, what does that mean? Do I now owe the landlord what was printed on the warrant, or do I owe what was on the remainder of the lease or what the landlord is currently requesting (2 months of rent plus late fees and court fees)?
 

sophist2011

Junior Member
I mentioned to my landlord last week, that I was waiting to be paid and get my tax return. Her response was that she cannot control when the sheriff shows up to evict me. Now, when I called the Sheriff's office to inquire when they would show up to evict me, they told me they couldn't do that without the Landlord's permission and that "it would be sometime next week" (this was on Thursday). I was told by the landlord that I need to pay as soon as possible because when the Sheriff shows up, there is nothing they can do about it. I was planning to call my landlord again today, and even send off a screen shot showing when I would be paid and get my tax return back.

Thoughts on this?
 

atomizer

Senior Member
Have you considered taking a paycheck loan? If you are working you might be able to get a hardship loan from your employer.
 

sophist2011

Junior Member
How does that usually work with an employer? Is any form of interest involved? What are the terms for the loan? Generally speaking of course.
 

atomizer

Senior Member
You go to human resources and ask for an advance. You arrange for deductions to your salary for an extended period of time.
 

Gail in Georgia

Senior Member
"Her response was that she cannot control when the sheriff shows up to evict me."

This is not "exactly" true. The law enforcement agency connected with handling the eviction (in my neck of the woods it's the Marshall's Office) simply oversees the eviction; they do not participate in lifting one stick of the tenants possessions to carry them out of the house. They will contact the landlord to schedule the day and time of the actual eviction so that the landlord will 1. be able to show up themselves and 2. have enough workers handy to clear out the rental unit within the required time period (typically 1 hour).

We recently went through completing the eviction process on a tenant; the Marshalls office initially scheduled this for 9 am in the morning but moved this to 4 pm the next day as I was able to take leave from work during this time.

Thus, there is some flexibility on moving the eviction to another day/time later in the week (again, depending on the schedule of the law enforcement agency that oversees this).

Gail
 
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sophist2011

Junior Member
I emailed my landlord about paying on the 3rd (I included a screen shot of my e-file federal tax return, and a screen shot of my bank statement), she hasn't responded back to me yet. I also called the Sheriff's office, and I was told they would not evict me this week, and that "if you paid by the end of the week and the landlord was okay with it, you would not be evicted." Basically, I was told no eviction would occur this week, and that it would likely occur next week. I guess the next step is to confirm that the landlord is okay with this, and then make payment this week.
 

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