The purchaser at a judicial sale may enforce any covenants of warranty running with the land which are incorporated in the previous title deeds.
§ 9-13-177.Right to enforce covenants
Chapter 13. Executions and Judicial Sales · Article 7. Judicial Sales · Last amended 1933 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 9-13-177 lets a purchaser at a judicial sale enforce any covenants of warranty running with the land that are already incorporated in the property’s earlier title deeds.
Full Text of § 9-13-177
Plain-English Summary
Because Code Section 9-13-167 gives the selling officer no personal warranty of title outside actual fraud or a deliberate, paid-for promise, a disappointed purchaser’s real protection often lies elsewhere: in the warranty covenants earlier owners already built into the chain of title. This section lets a judicial-sale purchaser step into that protection directly, enforcing any covenants of warranty running with the land that are incorporated in the previous title deeds.
A covenant that “runs with the land” protects whoever currently holds title to the property, not just the original grantee who first received the promise. Because that protection travels with the land itself rather than staying tied to one owner, a judicial-sale purchaser inherits the benefit of covenants made by owners long before the execution sale ever happened, without needing any fresh promise from the officer or from the defendant in the case.
Frequently Asked Questions
Since the selling officer gives no personal warranty, does a judicial-sale purchaser have any warranty protection at all?
Often yes — this section lets the purchaser enforce covenants of warranty already running with the land from earlier deeds in the chain of title.
What does it mean for a covenant to “run with the land”?
It means the covenant’s protection attaches to whoever currently holds title to the property, not just the person who originally received the promise.
Does the purchaser need a new warranty from the sheriff or the defendant to use this section?
No. The purchaser enforces covenants already incorporated in the previous title deeds, not any new promise made at the judicial sale.
Does this section give the purchaser more protection than Code Section 9-13-167 does?
It supplies a different kind of protection — inherited covenants from prior deeds — rather than expanding the officer’s own limited liability under that section.
What if no earlier deed in the chain of title contains a covenant of warranty?
Then this section has nothing to enforce, since it reaches only covenants that are in fact incorporated in the previous title deeds.
Amendment History
Orig. Code 1863, § 2578; Code 1868, § 2581; Code 1873, § 2623; Code 1882, § 2623; Civil Code 1895, § 5450; Civil Code 1910, § 6055; Code 1933, § 39-1308.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, published by the
Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Georgia Code Revision Commission / LexisNexis. Last verified July 17, 2026.
· Official source
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