Gordon County, GA Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)

Gordon County sets dwelling standards in two places. Sec. 4-28 adopts by reference the Standard Unsafe Building Abatement Code, the Standard Housing Code and the National Fire Protection Association Fire Codes, in the latest edition as adopted and amended by the state department of community affairs. Sec. 4-36(c)(1)j describes the Standard Housing Code as establishing minimum standards and requirements for dwellings, and Sec. 4-36(c)(5) requires all buildings and their electrical, gas, mechanical and plumbing systems to be maintained in a safe and sanitary condition, with the owner or designated agent responsible for maintenance.

The enforcement machinery is Chapter 9, Article II. Sec. 9-27 adopts O.C.G.A. §§ 41-1-1 through 41-2-16 as the county's public nuisance ordinance and names the board designee as public nuisance officer. Sec. 9-35, quoted above, lets the officer find a dwelling unfit for human habitation when conditions are dangerous or injurious to the health, safety or morals of its occupants, neighboring occupants or other residents of the county. The article speaks of owners and occupants and draws no line between owner-occupied and rented dwellings.

A case starts when a public authority, or at least five (5) residents of the unincorporated area, file a request, or when the officer acts on his own motion (Sec. 9-28). The owner and parties in interest are served a complaint, and a hearing is held not less than ten (10) days nor more than thirty (30) days after service. After the hearing the officer issues a written order (Sec. 9-29): repair, alter or improve the dwelling within the time specified, or vacate and close it, or, when repair cannot be made at reasonable cost, remove or demolish it. Sec. 9-30 bars the board of commissioners from requiring removal unless repair would cost more than one-half the value the structure will have when repaired. Removal by the officer also needs an ordinance from the board (Sec. 9-32).