What a Landlord Cannot Do in Georgia
The main limits Georgia law puts on landlords — lockouts and utility shutoffs, entering without notice, retaliation, deposits, fees and discrimination — each with the statute or official source.
In short: a Georgia landlord cannot evict without a court order, cannot punish a tenant for asserting legal rights where state law protects them, and must follow the state's rules on entry, deposits and fees shown below.
| Lockouts & utility shutoffs | Self-help eviction is illegal: landlord cannot remove a tenant or block access without the court dispossessory process. A landlord may not knowingly and willfully suspend a tenant's utility service before the final disposition of a dispossessory case the landlord has filed against that tenant; 'utilities' means cooling, heat, light, and water service. Violation is a crime punishable by a fine of up to $500. Official code not freely readable online; § 44-7-14.1 text verified on a public code mirror (code year 2024, current as of March 28, 2024), which predates HB 404's addition of 'cooling' to the definition (enrolled HB 404: https://gov.georgia.gov/document/2024-signed-legislation/hb-404/download). |
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| Landlord entry notice | No statute. Entry is governed by the lease; if the lease gives no right of entry, the tenant may refuse except in an emergency. |
| Landlord retaliation | Landlord may not retaliate because a tenant, in good faith, asserted a lease or legal right, asked for repairs or used a remedy under the landlord-tenant chapter, complained to a housing or code enforcement agency or a utility about a condition the landlord must fix, or formed or joined a tenant organization about habitability. A tenant makes a prima facie case of retaliation if, within 3 months after the protected act, the landlord files for eviction (with exceptions), deprives the tenant of use of the premises, reduces services, raises rent, terminates the lease, or materially interferes with the tenant's lease rights. Retaliation is a defense to eviction. Remedy: a civil penalty of one month's rent plus $500, court costs, reasonable attorney's fees if the conduct was willful, wanton or malicious, and declaratory relief, minus any rent or other sums the tenant owes. Official code not freely readable online; text verified on a public code mirror (code year 2024, current as of March 28, 2024). Not retaliation: eviction or termination for rent delinquent when notice was given or suit filed, intentional damage or threats to safety, serious misconduct or criminal acts, or holding over after proper notice; building-wide or lease-clause rent increases for utilities, taxes or insurance. The landlord may also rebut by showing the property passed a code inspection within the prior 12 months. The Legislative Counsel's summaries of general statutes enacted in 2025 and 2026 list no amendment to this section. Source: O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24 |
| Security deposit limit | 2 months' rent. No landlord may demand or receive a security deposit that exceeds the equivalent of two months' rent. Verified from the enrolled text of HB 404 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) on legis.ga.gov: signed 4/22/2024 as Act 392, effective 7/1/2024; the Act applies to residential leases entered into or renewed on or after July 1, 2024. The small-landlord exemption in § 44-7-36 (per public mirror, current as of 3/28/2024) lists §§ 44-7-31, -32, -33 and -35 and does not list § 44-7-30.1, so the cap appears to apply to all landlords. Also stated in the DCA Landlord-Tenant Handbook (rev. 8-29-24), p. 8. |
| Penalty for withholding | Landlord who fails to return any part of a deposit required to be returned is liable for 3 times the amount improperly withheld plus reasonable attorney's fees, unless the landlord shows by a preponderance of the evidence that the withholding was unintentional and a bona fide error despite procedures reasonably adapted to avoid it (then only the amount withheld). Failing to keep the escrow/bond or provide the required damage lists forfeits the right to withhold any part of the deposit. These penalties do not apply to owners of 10 or fewer units without a fee-paid manager, who can still be sued for the amount, interest while withheld, attorney's fees, and filing costs. Official O.C.G.A. is published only via LexisNexis; text verified on a public mirror (code year 2024, current as of March 28, 2024 — older than 2025). |
| Late fees | No statutory cap or grace period identified. Georgia statutes treat late fees as charges a landlord may collect: they may be demanded in the 3-business-day pay-or-vacate notice and deducted from the security deposit. No cap appears in the enrolled HB 404 text or the § 44-7-34 mirror text, and the DCA Handbook (rev. 8-29-24) lists 'late charges' only as a permitted deposit deduction (p. 15). Any limits would come from the lease and contract law. § 44-7-34 deduction list verified on a public mirror (code year 2024). The Legislative Counsel's summaries of general statutes enacted in 2025 and 2026 show no new late-fee law. |
| Rent control / increase limits | Local rent control is preempted. No county or city may enact, maintain, or enforce any ordinance or resolution regulating the rent charged for privately owned single-family or multi-unit residential rental property. Exceptions: property the local government (or its authority) owns, and voluntary agreements with private persons that regulate rent. No statewide rent cap. Official O.C.G.A. is published only via LexisNexis; text verified on a public mirror (code year 2024, current as of March 28, 2024 — older than 2025). Still in force: bills to repeal § 44-7-19 (HB 299, 2025; SB 106, withdrawn and recommitted 1/13/2026) and to cap rent increases (HB 707, HB 710, HB 1031) did not pass (legis.ga.gov, checked 2026-10-22). Handbook: rent may rise during a lease only if the lease allows; tenancy-at-will increases need 60 days' notice. Source: O.C.G.A. § 44-7-19 |
| Statewide ban on refusing Section 8 / source of income | No statewide protection. Georgia's fair housing protected classes are race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status and disability; source of income (including vouchers) is not among them. |
| Cameras & privacy | No landlord-specific statute. Georgia's criminal surveillance law makes it unlawful to use a device to observe, photograph, or record activities in a private place and out of public view without the consent of all persons observed, to secretly record private conversations originating in a private place, or to go onto another's premises to eavesdrop or secretly observe. An owner or occupier may use security devices on the property or its approaches only in areas where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy. Official code not freely readable online; text verified on a public code mirror (code year 2024). Cameras inside a rented home that capture private activity without the occupants' consent risk violating this law; common-area or exterior security cameras are generally allowed. Source: O.C.G.A. § 16-11-62(1)–(3) |
Can I sue my landlord in Georgia? · All Georgia tenant rights
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.