Some new rental regulations have taken hold in Atlanta recently, and it’s essential to understand what they mean for your rental property. Georgia remains a landlord-friendly state, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t tenant protections in place. Making a legal mistake is easy, and we want to help you prevent that.
Here’s how landlords and property owners should navigate Atlanta’s new rental regulations.
Safe at Home Act: Habitability Standards
Let’s start with the law establishing habitability standards in Atlanta rental properties. Did you know that before this law, Georgia was one of the few states in the entire country without a set of established or implied habitability and safety standards?
We have them now, and landlords are expected to provide the tenants a safe, functional, and habitable rental home. The specifics include:
- Ensuring all essential home services and utilities, such as plumbing, electricity, and gas, are available to tenants when they move in. Access to heating, cooling, and hot and cold water is mandated.
- The home must be free of mold.
- Home must be free of pests and infestations.
- Repair requests must be responded to without delay.
This law, which went into effect late in 2024, requires regular property maintenance to meet all these standards. Your tenants do not have the right to withhold rent or to deduct repairs they make themselves, but if you take too long to respond to a maintenance need, the new laws allow those tenants to file a claim and take legal action against you.
Navigate these laws by prioritizing maintenance and remaining responsive to the needs of your tenants and your property.
Updates to Eviction Law
New laws have also impacted how evictions occur in Atlanta.
For starters, a three-day grace period is now in place for tenants. Since unpaid rent is the most common reason landlords evict their residents, the law has been updated to give tenants a grace period even if their lease agreement does not already provide one. If rent is late, you’ll need to wait three days and then serve your tenants with a formal notice, letting them know why you’re evicting and what they can do to prevent it.
There’s also been an update to self-help evictions. While it has always been illegal for landlords to change the locks and turn off the water and electricity to get tenants to leave, it’s now also illegal to turn off the air conditioning to force an eviction when your tenant is not paying rent.
The best way to navigate evictions is to avoid them. Removing a nonpaying tenant from your Atlanta rental property is still relatively easy, even with the mandated grace period. However, you can save yourself the time and frustration of evictions by paying attention to tenant screening and establishing a good and positive relationship with your residents. Vigorous lease enforcement helps, too. If this is more than you believe you have the time and resources to achieve, consider working with an Atlanta property manager.
Security Deposit Limits
Atlanta landlords and rental property owners cannot charge more than the equivalent of 1.5 months’ rent when they collect a security deposit. The Georgia state law limits security deposits to the equivalent of two months of rent. In Atlanta, however, you can charge only the equivalent of 1.5 months’ rent. That means if you’re charging $2,000 monthly rent, your security deposit cannot exceed $3,000.
This limit includes all deposits, including pet deposits you might charge when a tenant moves in with dogs or cats.
Security deposits are tricky even in the best circumstances. Make sure you document how much you’ve collected, and let tenants know what’s expected from them to have the security deposit refunded. At the end of the tenancy, you have 30 days to return the deposit. List what was withheld and why, if you’re withholding any of it. If you don’t return the deposit or the statement within those 30 days, your tenant is entitled to a full refund regardless of any damage or overdue rent left behind.
Party Houses and Short-Term Rentals in Atlanta
The City of Atlanta is proposing new legislation to limit the number of short-term rentals allowed, particularly in apartment buildings and condo communities that have lately been labeled “party houses.” Neighboring homeowners complain that these homes are being rented specifically to throw parties, leading to noise and other disruptions.
The proposed ordinance will:
- A city permit is required before short-term rentals are allowed.
- Limit the number of short-term rentals in apartment buildings.
- A cap on how many short-term rentals can operate within a given area.
These laws won’t apply to your long-term rentals, but it’s worth noting that the trend of renting out homes for the short term is beginning to lose favor with local homeowners in Atlanta.
Navigating Atlanta Rental Laws
The best way to keep yourself and your rental property on the right side of the law is by working with an Atlanta property management company. We prioritize following the trending legislative developments and ensuring you and your property comply with all existing state, federal, and local laws. We invest in professional development to ensure that we understand best practices around fair housing, habitability, rental increases, eviction, security deposits, and tenant privacy rights.
Renting out homes in Atlanta can be risky. Let’s discuss how we can limit your liability and ensure you don’t violate any laws or requirements.
We’re part of the solution. Please contact us at Silas Frazier Realty, LLC. We lease, manage, and maintain investment properties in Atlanta, Snellville, Stone Mountain, Lilburn, Conyers, Smyrna, Marietta, Lithonia, Jonesboro, McDonough, Vinings, Brookhaven, Tucker, and the surrounding areas.
