Rent increases in Georgia

Georgia has no separate rent-increase statute. For a tenancy at will (such as month-to-month), the landlord must give 60 days' notice of a rent increase — the same notice needed to end the tenancy. After 60 days a new tenancy at will starts at the new rent. Tenants need give only 30 days to leave. (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-7 (as explained in the DCA Georgia Landlord-Tenant Handbook, rev. 8-29-24))

No separate rent-increase rule: the periods below are the notice to end a periodic tenancy.

Earliest date the new rent can start, with rent due on the 1st, worked out from the Georgia rule above:

• For a month-to-month tenant of 1 year raising rent 5% or a month-to-month tenant of 3 years raising rent 12% or a week-to-week tenant raising rent 5%: Friday, January 1, 2027

Rent can only be raised during a lease if the lease says so; the lease controls whether and how often rent can rise. A new owner is generally bound by existing leases. (Georgia Landlord-Tenant Handbook (DCA, rev. 8-29-24), 'Changes to Lease Terms')

O.C.G.A. § 44-7-19 restricts rent regulation by local governments. Bills to repeal it (HB 299, SB 106) were introduced in 2025; they would have to pass for cities like Atlanta to adopt rent control. (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-19; 2025 HB 299 / SB 106 (bill titles))

A landlord may not retaliate (including by raising rent) because a tenant asked for repairs, joined a tenant organization about health/safety, filed a good-faith code complaint, or enforced lease or legal rights. A rent increase within 3 months of such action is presumed retaliatory, unless it follows a lease escalation clause for utilities/taxes/insurance, a building-wide pattern, or a government housing program. It is a rebuttable defense that the property was certified code-compliant by a government program, code officer or licensed building inspector within the prior 12 months. Remedy: one month's rent plus $500, costs and possible attorney fees. (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24)

• When a lease ends and the landlord keeps accepting rent without a new lease, a tenancy at will on the old terms arises; the landlord then needs 60 days' notice to change terms.
• Official statute text for § 44-7-7 is published by LexisNexis behind a terms-of-use gate; the 60-day rule here is taken from the state DCA handbook.

Security deposit

A landlord may not require a deposit of more than two months' rent (§ 44-7-30.1, added by the Safe at Home Act, HB 404, 2024). Return deadline: 30 days (see details).

Tenant's notice to move out

30 days

Notice for unpaid rent

3 business days (pay or move out)

How a written notice is delivered (eviction-notice rules)

Both the demand for possession and the 3-business-day notice must be posted in a sealed envelope conspicuously on the door of the property AND delivered by any additional method agreed to in the lease (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-50(d)).

Notice for other lease violations

Varies

Small claims court limit

$15,000 — where most deposit and rent disputes are filed.

Repairs

Time to repair: A reasonable time. Repair and deduct: allowed with limits; withholding rent: not allowed.

Deposit kept wrongly

A landlord covered by § 44-7-35 (any landlord except a natural person who, with spouse and minor children, owns 10 or fewer rental units without paid third-party management) owes three times the sum improperly withheld plus reasonable attorney's fees, unless 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 (then only the sum withheld). A covered landlord also can't keep any of the deposit if it didn't escrow or bond the deposit, didn't give the move-in damage list, and didn't make the move-out damage list available (§ 44-7-35(a)). Exempt small landlords are still bound by the 30-day return rule in § 44-7-34.

Lawful reasons to end a lease early

Domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking; Military service (state law)

• Georgia Landlord-Tenant Handbook (Dept. of Community Affairs, rev. 8-29-24) Retrieved October 15, 2026.
• 2025 HB 299 (repeal of O.C.G.A. § 44-7-19, rent regulation by local governments) Retrieved October 15, 2026.
• 2025 SB 106 (repeal of O.C.G.A. § 44-7-19) Retrieved October 15, 2026.
• 2019 HB 346 as signed (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24 retaliation) Retrieved October 15, 2026.

Laws change. This page was checked against the sources above on October 15, 2026. It is legal information, not legal advice; for a dispute, contact your state's legal aid. See our methodology.