Georgia Landlord-Tenant Law
Know your rights as a renter in Georgia. This guide covers security deposits, landlord entry, rent increases, eviction protections, and more under Georgia law.
Legal basis: Georgia landlord-tenant law — Georgia Code
30
Days to Return Deposit
2 months' rent
Max Deposit
No state rule
Entry Notice
Required
Deposit Escrow
Max Deposit shows the short version — read the full rule below.
What Georgia law says about deposits
Maximum Deposit
2 months' rent (leases signed or renewed on or after July 1, 2024)
Return Deadline
30 dayscounted from when the landlord gets possession back; anything kept needs a written statement of reasons, O.C.G.A. § 44-7-34
Penalties, interest & late-fee rules under Georgia law
If your deposit is wrongfully or late returned
Three times the sum improperly withheld plus reasonable attorney's fees, or only the sum withheld if the landlord shows by a preponderance of the evidence that the withholding was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error despite procedures reasonably designed to avoid such errors (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-35(c)). A landlord who misses the lists and statements loses the right to keep any of the deposit (§ 44-7-35(b)). Neither applies to a landlord who is a natural person (with spouse and minor children) owning ten or fewer rental units, unless a third person manages the units, including rent collection, for a fee (§ 44-7-36); the 30-day return deadline in § 44-7-34 still applies to that landlord.
Interest on your deposit is not required
Grace period
No grace period, but before filing for eviction the landlord must give 3 business days to pay the rent and late fees owed
Must be in the lease
Yes — a late fee is only enforceable if it is written into your lease
Your privacy protections
Required Notice Period
No state rule
No Georgia statute sets entry notice; your lease's terms apply
No Georgia statute sets how much notice a landlord must give before entering. Your lease's entry terms apply, so check what it says about notice and entry times.
No notice statute; no caps
Legal basis: No Statute
No set deadline; no repair-and-deduct statute
Legal basis: O.C.G.A. § 44-7-13
Protected
Legal basis: OCGA § 44-7-24
30 days with a protective order
Legal basis: O.C.G.A. § 44-7-23
Self-help illegal
Legal basis: OCGA §§ 44-7-50, 44-7-14.1
Important facts about Georgia rental law
Georgia limits security deposits to 2 months' rent (Safe at Home Act, since July 2024).
Georgia landlords must return deposits within 30 days of move-out.
Georgia landlords must hold deposits in an escrow account (or post a surety bond) and tell you in writing where it is, unless the landlord is an individual who owns 10 or fewer rental units and uses no paid manager.
Georgia requires landlords to disclose flooding history of the property.
Something else? Contact our team
In Georgia, the security deposit limit is 2 months' rent (leases signed or renewed on or after July 1, 2024).
Georgia landlords must return security deposits within 30 days after you move out (counted from when the landlord gets possession back; anything kept needs a written statement of reasons, O.C.G.A. § 44-7-34).
No Georgia statute sets how much notice a landlord must give before entering, so your lease's entry terms apply.
Late fees in Georgia: No statutory cap. No grace period, but before filing for eviction the landlord must give 3 business days to pay the rent and late fees owed.
No notice statute; no caps. No Georgia statute sets how much notice a landlord must give before raising rent. A month-to-month tenancy ends on 60 days' notice from the landlord or 30 days' from you (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-7). No statewide cap, and cities and counties may not regulate the amount of rent (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-19). Source: No Statute.
No set deadline; no repair-and-deduct statute. Landlord must keep the home in repair (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-13(a)). Leases signed or renewed on or after July 1, 2024 must provide a home fit to live in (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-13(b)). Georgia's statute sets no repair deadline and does not itself create a repair-and-deduct or rent-withholding right (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-13). The state's landlord-tenant handbook says that if the landlord does not make a required repair within a reasonable time, you can have a qualified, licensed professional make it at a reasonable cost and subtract that from your next rent payment; tell the landlord in writing first and keep receipts. It does not cover common areas, and the landlord can dispute the cost (Georgia Landlord Tenant Handbook, Dept. of Community Affairs, 2024). Source: O.C.G.A. § 44-7-13.
Protected. You make a retaliation case by showing you used a right (a good-faith repair notice, a good-faith complaint to a code or utility agency, or tenant-organization activity) about a life, health, safety or habitability concern, and that within 3 months the landlord filed to evict you, shut you out, cut services, raised your rent, ended your lease or interfered with your lease rights (OCGA § 44-7-24). It is not an automatic presumption, and there are exceptions, such as when you owe rent or have seriously breached the lease. Retaliation is a defense to an eviction case, and you may recover a civil penalty of one month's rent plus $500, court costs, and attorney's fees where the conduct is willful, wanton or malicious, less any rent you owe (OCGA § 44-7-24(e)). Document all communications. Source: OCGA § 44-7-24.
30 days with a protective order. A tenant protected by a family violence or stalking order may end the lease 30 days after written notice. Include a copy of the order; a police report counts only together with an ex parte temporary protective order. You owe rent prorated to the end date, plus anything already owed, and no fee for leaving early. Applies to leases made on or after July 1, 2018 (family violence) and July 1, 2021 (stalking). Source: O.C.G.A. § 44-7-23.
Self-help illegal. A landlord must use the court's dispossessory process to remove you (OCGA § 44-7-50 et seq.). A landlord who forcibly ejects a tenant or removes belongings without that process can be liable to the tenant in trespass under Georgia court decisions. Cutting off heat, light or water (and cooling, for leases made or renewed on or after July 1, 2024) before a dispossessory case is decided is a crime, with a fine of up to $500 (OCGA § 44-7-14.1). Source: OCGA §§ 44-7-50, 44-7-14.1.
Georgia tenants have rights including security deposit protections, notice requirements for landlord entry, habitability standards, and protections against retaliation. Use Honestkey to analyze your specific lease against Georgia law.
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