What Is a Rental Agreement in Georgia?
A Georgia rental agreement is a written agreement between a person who owns property and someone who is renting that property. The agreement stipulates how much the renter will pay, how long the renter will be allowed to stay in the property and who will be responsible for upkeep and maintenance of the property.
Georgia rental agreements are legally binding contracts , which means violations can potentially lead to legal action. A Georgia rental agreement is not required to be in writing; however. If no written agreement exists, Georgia law mandates these rental agreements be upheld. Therefore, if there is an issue down the line that involves security deposit disputes or late-payment fees, it is best to have a written agreement as proof of stipulations.
Essential Provisions in Rental Agreements
Each rental agreement in Georgia should include several critical elements, including the lease’s duration, the monthly rent amount, security deposit terms, and termination conditions. The duration clause will specify the length of time the agreement will remain in effect, usually 12 months. (Georgia law allows parties to agree to a different termination date). The duration can also be used to express a right of renewal, such as an option to divide the agreement into one year leases until the tenant has been in the home for five years, at which point it will revert to month-to-month or from month-to-month thereafter. The amount of rent to be paid each month, when it’s due and acceptable forms of payment can be integrated with the duration clause or made its own section. The first rent due date should be specified prior to the tenant’s move-in date. Much like a promissory note, the security deposit clause should specify the amount of the deposit, how it will be held, when it will be returned and under what circumstances the deposit may be withheld. Terminations clauses deal with topics such as how much notice must be provided by either party prior to moving out, how to give that notice and what exactly to do with early rent payments. For example, if the tenant is allowed to pay up to six months’ rent in advance, and requests a refund for the remaining balance in the event they break the lease early, should the landlord be required to comply?
Georgia Tenant & Landlord Rights
Georgia landlord-tenant law grants no broad range of protections to either landlords or tenants. Although several states have specific laws intended to protect tenants with regard to leasehold agreements, including Georgia, the law remains somewhat landlord-friendly. Most tenant protections are set out in actual rental agreements.
One Georgia tenant right is that a landlord may not retaliate against a tenant. For example, if you request repairs to your apartment and the landlord seeks to evict you as retaliation for that request, you would be entitled to maintain possession.
A further tenant protection is the Georgia Fair Housing Act. Under that act, discrimination in housing sales or leasing on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin is prohibited. Sex and age discrimination is prohibited in the sale of residential property. Further, housing discrimination based on family status, religion, or disability is prohibited in counties with populations over 100,000. So if you live in Atlanta, for instance and are a disabled veteran, you would not be legally prohibited from renting.
If a tenant complies with the rental agreement, he or she has the right to occupy the unit and use its services. The areas of tenant responsibilities can be found in the rental agreement and can include the duty to pay rent, keep the unit clean, and not to intentionally or negligently cause waste. A tenant can also be prohibited from disruptive behavior, subleasing without landlord permission and other actions such as the keeping of pets. Georgia law does not grant a tenant the right to decorate by hanging pictures or changing the interior or exterior of the rental unit.
If you live in an apartment building, management also has a right to enter the unit to make repairs and inspect the property.
A landlord’s right under Georgia law generally is to the timely payment of rent. If a tenant falls behind on rent, the landlord is permitted to serve a notice demanding the rent be paid. If the tenant pays the rent, no further action is required. However, if the tenant does not comply, the landlord can proceed to evict. No other reason to evict is needed per Georgia law.
Landlords may be able to expedite an eviction by obtaining a summary possession order when they can show a tenant has failed to pay rent for more than five days. This is particularly useful in an apartment setting where monthly rent is usually low. A landlord may seek this process even when the rental agreement does not permit it.
If a lease specifies conditions for repairs, the landlord may make these repairs and bill the tenant for the cost of the work performed.
Landlords have a responsibility to repair those elements of the premises they have agreed to under the lease. These duties could include the entryway and stairwells in an apartment building. Again, fees should be specified in the rental agreement. The obligation of the landlord generally terminates upon lease termination unless otherwise provided for in the agreement.
Georgia Security Deposits
In addition to rental provisions, Georgia rental agreements may also provide for a monetary deposit (or "security deposit") which the tenant must deposit with the landlord prior to taking possession of the residential rental property. A security deposit is an amount of money paid to a landlord before the commencement of a tenancy that can be used to recover damages to real property that occur as the result of intentional misconduct attributable to a tenant or negligence – for example, broken windows or doors, stains on carpet or hardwood flooring, holes in walls, or damages caused by unauthorized pets, etc.
Landlords in Georgia’s residential rental properties (including apartments, mobile home parks, and single-family homes) must provide a written disclosure of the conditions under which a security deposit will be returned to the tenant at the end of the tenancy (also referred to as a "Move-Out Procedure" or an "Inspection and Move-Out Form"). Case law has established that this disclosure satisfies Georgia law pursuant to O.C.G.A. ยงยง 44-7-34 and 33-5-20(6) regarding a landlord’s responsibility concerning a tenant’s security deposit. Georgia law prohibits a landlord from charging a security deposit in excess of one month’s rent in any rental agreement unless it is based upon an existing lease or agreement. For example, if the monthly rent is $ 1,000, the security deposit may not exceed $ 1,000. However, in mobile home parks, security deposits may not exceed two months’ rent under any circumstances. The law provides an itemization of potential deductions from a tenant’s security deposit. These include charges for repairs that are reasonable considering the condition of the rental property when the tenant first occupied the rental unit. Yet, the law places limits on how much a landlord can deduct for cleaning charges. "Cleaning" shall not include: "The fact that the premises may have been better when the lessor occupied them than at the time the lessee vacated them shall not be sufficient to authorize any deduction from the deposit. Faded paint, worn spots on the floors, missing or torn screens, and other ordinary wear and tear shall not be deducted." This means that if the carpet is stained with an unremovable odor because your Doberman killed a squirrel and then dragged the body inside to eat, the carpet will not be considered ordinary wear and tear (and the cost of replacing the carpet can be deducted from the security deposit). However, if the carpet is stained from the occasional glass of iced tea we have spilled in our living rooms, that will be considered ordinary wear and tear which cannot be deducted from the security deposit. The law also restricts a landlord’s deductions from a tenant’s security deposit to charges that fall within the statutorily defined categories allowable for deduction from a security deposit. For example, a deduction for more than a fair share for painting of ceilings, walls and floors; for replacement of interior wall coverings and floor coverings; for replacement of windows, doors, and light fixtures; or for charges for tear-down, construction, or relocating partitions, except reasonable redecoration, may not be a lawful deduction from a tenant’s security deposit (as those charges would fall within the definition of ordinary wear and tear). If there are prescribed maintenance items that were not completed by the tenant by the last day of occupancy, a tenant cannot incur a charge for those items unless the landlord reasonably tended to them within fifteen (15) days following the last day of the lease term or the surrender of the premises by the tenant, and that the tenant did not make the reasonable effort and cannot show that he could not have reasonably completed such repair during the fifteen (15) days after the occupancy. If a residential rental unit is only partially furnished, a tenant may not be liable for damages to the furnished portions of the residential rental unit, and provisions should be made in the rental agreement to identify the items of furniture that the tenant is responsible for and the extent of that responsibility. Any other deductions not expressly provided for by law will be presumed to be illegal deductions from the security deposit. For example, no deductions from a tenant’s security deposit may be made to compensate for the landlord’s failure to comply with obligations to provide heat, hot water, conveniences and services thus breaches the warranty of habitability. Within thirty (30) days after the tenant vacated a rental unit, the landlord must return the full deposit or the portion that is not subtracted for any damages (note: this requirement does not apply to security deposits held for tenants of a mobile home park). If there are lawful deductions to the security deposit, the landlord must provide the tenant with an itemized list of the damages along with the remaining portion of the deposit. Finally, if the landlord fails to provide this itemized list and refund the balance of the deposit, the tenant can sue for triple the amount of the deposit, along with reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs.
Georgia Eviction Procedure
The landlord and tenant relationship can take on a variety of forms. Some landlords will have five or more tenants living in the same property and others will have only one. Even if there is only one tenant in the household, often times there are several adults living there with the tenant. Because of this, oftentimes there are not just two parties to an eviction, but instead there could be four, five or more parties to the action. It is not uncommon in a divorce case for one party to sign a lease and then try to evict his or her spouse after the divorce. To evict a tenant that has breached a landlord-tenant agreement, a lawsuit must be initiated unless the lease currently has an enforceable provision allowing self-help. The tipping point for tenants often times occurs after a tenant has failed to pay rent for at least five days or more. If the landlord gives the tenant three days to fix or cure the problem and he or she does not do so, their tenant can be evicted. In the case of a failure to pay rent, the notice can be more flexible. If a tenant fails to pay rent, the landlord can give them a 30-day notice . This allows the tenant to pay the rents and still stay in possession of the property. If a tenant does not pay their portion of the rent (and it is a lease with two or more tenants), then the other tenant would have standing to collect from the person who is not paying their portion. Additionally, the lease would have to state what will happen if one person is not paying their half. There are a number of reasons a landlord may choose to evict a tenant. Evictions can be a cause of some stress and pain for both landlords and tenants. However, being knowledgeable of the eviction process can save a few headaches along the way. In order to formally evict a tenant in Georgia a landlord must file an action in magistrate court against the tenant. Eviction cases are filed in magistrate court because the lawsuits typically do not exceed $15,000. The tenant, or tenants, receives a pass from the sheriff. At the hearing, the tenant(s) may provide justification as to why the landlord is not entitled to evict. If the magistrate determines otherwise, then an order is issued for the tenant to vacate the property.
Resolving Georgia Rental Disputes
Resolving rental disputes in Georgia can be a straightforward process if both the landlord and tenant are willing to enter into an open dialogue. The best place to begin is with a polite letter that outlines any issue you believe may exist. Both parties should remain calm, avoiding any sort of emotional or heated confrontation. As demonstrated by the Georgia Rental Agreement Guide, a little effort can go a long way toward maintaining a peaceful and mutually beneficial tenant/landlord relationship.
The most straightforward way to resolve a rental dispute in Georgia is with a simple conversation. If that fails, the parties can explore mediation, which involves the selection of a third party to help them arrive at a mutually agreeable solution. Mediation can be a cost-effective way to settle a rental dispute for either party, while also preserving the tenant/landlord relationship. Mediation often takes the form of a one-on-one meeting between the tenant, the landlord and an arbitrator. If the parties can come to an equitable resolution, a simple written agreement is typically drafted and signed.
In some cases, the issue may not warrant a court appearance. You can often find a satisfactory solution in the simplest of ways without incurring all the legal costs. In instances where the tenant simply cannot pay or refuses to pay rent, the property owner has no choice in the matter, and is empowered to take legal action. The first step involves serving the tenant with a written five-day notice to pay the rent owed, or quit the premises. If the tenant fails to abide by the notice, the next step is an eviction. With the cost of a standard eviction being around $90 and 2-3 weeks spent in the process, this approach can prove expensive.
If unpaid rent isn’t the issue, but rather a tenant’s failure to fulfill some part of the lease agreement, the property owner may seek to have the tenant removed for criminal activity, health and safety violations, or other damages to the property. In these instances, the dispute normally proceeds to the small claims court, where the plaintiff and defendant present their cases before a neutral third party, the magistrate judge, who determines the next steps.
Amending and Updating Georgia Rental Agreements
To make a valid modification, update or upgrade to a Georgia rental agreement (versus just an oral modification), both the landlord and tenant must sign a written document. The written update or upgrade must contain all necessary mandatory provisions of the Georgia rental agreements and must be acknowledged by both the Landlord and the Tenant.
A signed-updated or upgraded document that is complete and reflects the agreement between the Landlord and the Tenant is enforceable.
A "flat rent increase" as it relates to an update to a Georgia rental agreement is one where the landlord raises the rent by a flat amount (for example $25.00). A borderline "flat rent increase" update is one where the rent will be the flat rent amount "plus" the increased cost of living index.
The update or modification to the Georgia rental agreement that is enforceable is a rent increase by a flat amount.
Updates to a Georgia rental agreement such as the expiration date of the rental agreement are not considered to be a flat rent increase and as such do not require "consent" of the landlord or tenant.
Inquiry in to who the landlord might be where some individual other than the landlord’s name was listed in the rental agreement is often addressed via an update or modification to the rental agreement.
Avoiding Common Rental Agreement Mistakes
Common mistakes are often made when drafting rental agreements in Georgia. Generally speaking, many landlords assume the rental agreement can be a simple one page document listing the legal names of the landlord and tenant, the street address of the rental property, the rent amount, the lease term, method of payment, and then add terms and conditions in the form of an addendum to the lease. Although this approach is common, it is not recommended.
The rental agreement should be a document that is specific to the rental property or properties, the landlord’s needs and legal obligations, and the tenant’s qualifications. What many fail to realize or make the mistake of not having a rental agreement that establishes the landlord’s right to recover attorney fees and expenses from the tenant for certain violations of the lease. Too many landlords do not include such a provision in their rental agreements. Why? Your rental agreement is a legally binding contract . A well written rental agreement should establish the landlord’s right to recover attorney fees and expenses if either party to the rental agreement breaches the contract. If such a provision is included in the rental agreement, then fees and expenses assessed by a judge and/or set forth in a settlement agreement with a tenant can be recovered.
Another common mistake is failing to properly handle security deposits in the rental agreement. The rental agreement should state how much the security deposit is. If it is more than $50 or more than one month’s rent, then the rental lease must have certain provisions concerning the return of the security deposit, such as: provide the tenant with an inspection report detailing the damages and cleaning necessary prior to the return of the security deposit. Other common mistakes include not identifying which party to the rental agreement is responsible for yard maintenance, termites and any damages caused by the tenants. An experienced landlord / tenant law attorney can help draft such a rental agreement.
