Georgia Residential Lease Agreement

Required Landlord Disclosures (6)

Georgia landlords must provide certain federal, state, or local disclosures depending on the property, lease terms, and whether they collect a security deposit. Standard Georgia residential lease agreements commonly include the following disclosures:

1. Lead paint: Federal law requires landlords nationwide to disclose known lead-based paint and lead hazards, and to provide tenants with an EPA-approved pamphlet for any unit built before 1978, at or before lease signing (42 U.S.C. § 4852d).
2. Flooding: If flooding has damaged the leased living space at least three times in the 5 years preceding a new lease, the landlord must tell the prospective tenant in writing beforehand. A landlord who fails to provide this notice may be liable for subsequent flood damage to the tenant’s personal property (Ga. Code Ann. § 44-7-20).
3. Death or disease: Georgia landlords are not required to disclose information about death or disease in the lease. But if a tenant asks whether someone died or had a communicable disease on the property, the landlord must answer truthfully and to the best of their knowledge (Ga. Code Ann. § 44-1-16).
4. Security deposit: Landlords who must escrow deposits must tell tenants in writing where they hold the funds. Natural persons who, with their immediate family, own 10 or fewer rental units are exempt unless a third party manages the rental for a fee (Ga. Code Ann. § 44-7-31, § 44-7-36).
5. Move-in/move-out checklist: Before collecting a security deposit, covered Georgia landlords must provide tenants with a list of existing damage and allow them to inspect the unit before signing the lease. When the lease ends, the landlord inspects again and lists any damage they plan to charge against the deposit (Ga. Code Ann. § 44-7-33).
6. Landlord/agent identification: At or before move-in, the landlord must provide the tenant in writing with the name and address of the property owner (or service agent) and the person who manages the property. They must report any change within 30 days (Ga. Code Ann. § 44-7-3).

Security Deposit Regulations

Maximum security deposit amount: For leases entered into or renewed on or after July 1, 2024, Georgia security deposits cannot exceed 2 months’ rent (Ga. Code Ann. § 44-7-30.1).

Holding the deposit: Covered Georgia landlords must keep security deposits in an escrow account at a regulated bank, or post a surety bond with the county superior court instead (Ga. Code Ann. § 44-7-31, § 44-7-32).

Receipt of deposit: Landlords do not have to provide a written receipt for the security deposit. However, documenting the amount, date, and location of the institution holding the deposit is a smart recordkeeping practice.

Deduction tracking: If the landlord withholds security deposit funds for repairs beyond normal wear and tear, they must provide a written statement listing the reasons for the withholding and the damages (Ga. Code Ann. § 44-7-34).

Returning a tenant’s security deposit: Landlords must return the security deposit within 30 days of regaining possession of the property from the tenant. If the landlord mails the statement and any refund to the tenant’s last known address, the letter is returned undelivered, and the landlord cannot locate the tenant after they’ve made a reasonable effort, the deposit becomes the landlord’s property after 90 days after it was mailed (Ga. Code Ann. § 44-7-34).

Landlord’s Access to Property

Advance notice: Georgia law does not require landlords to give tenants advance notice before entering the property. However, landlords can include entry notice requirements in the rental agreement.

Immediate access: Georgia landlords may enter the property during emergencies or when the rental agreement allows entry.

Landlord harassment: Georgia tenants have the right to quiet enjoyment of the rental property. Repeated or unreasonable landlord entry may interfere with that right and could give the tenant grounds to pursue legal remedies or, in serious cases, argue that the landlord breached the lease (Ga. Code Ann. § 51-9-1).

Rent Payment Laws

Grace period: Georgia law doesn’t require landlords to provide a grace period for rent payments.

Late rent fees: No state statute limits late rent fees. Landlords should clearly outline any late fee policy in the lease agreement.

Tenant’s right to withhold rent: Georgia law does not create a broad statutory rent-withholding process. However, the Georgia Landlord-Tenant Handbook notes that tenants may be able to arrange necessary repairs and deduct the cost from rent if the landlord fails to make repairs within a reasonable time after notice.

Breach of Rental Contract

Missed rent payment: For leases entered into or renewed on or after July 1, 2024, the landlord must first give written notice to pay or vacate. The tenant then has 3 business days to pay all past-due amounts before the landlord files a dispossessory affidavit (Ga. Code Ann. § 44-7-50).

Lease violation: Georgia law does not set one universal cure period for every lease violation. Landlords should follow the lease terms, provide written notice when required, and use the court dispossessory process if the tenant refuses to comply or surrender possession (Ga. Code Ann. § 44-7-50).

Self-help evictions: Georgia landlords should not use self-help eviction tactics to force a tenant from a property, or they could be found guilty of a misdemeanor. Landlords should always follow the legal eviction process to remove a tenant.

Lease abandonment: Tenants who leave before the lease ends without legal justification may owe unpaid rent and other amounts permitted by the lease.

Habitability standards: Under the Safe at Home Act, every Georgia residential lease now includes a promise that the home is fit for human habitation, and landlords must keep the property in repair. Lease language cannot waive these duties (Ga. Code Ann. § 44-7-13, § 44-7-2).

Ending a Lease

Month-to-month: When ending a month-to-month lease agreement, landlords must give 60 days’ notice. Tenants only need to provide 30 days’ notice (Ga. Code Ann. § 44-7-7).

Fixed-term: Georgia tenants may be able to end a fixed-term lease early in limited situations, including active military duty, serious habitability issues, landlord harassment, or other legally protected circumstances. Tenants should review the lease and follow the proper notice process before moving out.

Property abandonment: Georgia does not have a broad statewide law for personal property left behind outside the eviction process. In eviction cases, once a writ of possession is executed, the law treats personal property that the officer removes from the rental as abandoned, and the landlord owes the tenant no duty for that property (Ga. Code Ann. § 44-7-55).

Renewing a Lease

Required renewals: Georgia landlords are generally not required to renew a lease when the rental term expires, provided the decision does not violate fair housing laws, retaliation protections, or the lease terms.

Required notice: For tenancies at will, Georgia landlords must provide 60 days’ notice to terminate, while tenants must provide 30 days’ notice. Fixed-term leases typically end on the date stated in the lease unless the lease requires advance notice of nonrenewal or establishes a renewal process (Ga. Code Ann. § 44-7-7).