Rental Property Rules in Georgia (2026)
33 rules on the books across Georgia, 23 cities and counties. Select a rule to read the full details.
Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions
Rent Control
Local limits on how much landlords can raise rent each year, including which properties are covered and exemptions for newer buildings.
Rental Registration
Requirements for landlords to register rental properties with the city, including inspection programs, fees, and occupancy standards.
DeKalb County
Significant RestrictionsOwners of four or more multifamily rental units in unincorporated DeKalb County must file an annual code compliance…
Read full rule →Marietta
Significant RestrictionsMarietta requires a separate rental license for every rented dwelling, dwelling unit or rooming unit in the city before…
Read full rule →Sandy Springs
Significant RestrictionsOwners of multifamily rental housing in Sandy Springs must obtain an annual code compliance certificate before the city…
Read full rule →South Fulton
Significant RestrictionsOwners of four or more multifamily rental units in South Fulton must hold a city occupational tax certificate, and…
Read full rule →Coweta County
Some RestrictionsCoweta County runs no registration program for long-term rentals: a landlord needs no county permit or inspection to…
Read full rule →Dunwoody
Some RestrictionsDunwoody requires owners of four or more rental units to hold an occupation tax certificate, and the city will not…
Read full rule →Security Deposit Rules
Caps on how much landlords may collect as security deposits, return deadlines, itemized-deduction requirements, and tenant remedies for wrongfully withheld deposits.
Repairs & Habitability
The implied warranty of habitability, how long a landlord has to fix essential services (heat, water, plumbing, mold), and tenant remedies such as repair-and-deduct, rent withholding, or breaking the lease.
Georgia: statewide
StatewideSome RestrictionsSince July 1, 2024, the Safe at Home Act (HB 404) added an express duty to O.C.G.A. § 44-7-13 that landlords keep…
Read full rule →Fulton County
Significant RestrictionsUnincorporated Fulton County can order a dwelling repaired or demolished if it is dilapidated, structurally unsound, or…
Read full rule →Atlanta
Some RestrictionsAtlanta's Housing Code sets minimum habitability standards for every rental unit: working bathroom and kitchen…
Read full rule →Augusta-Richmond County
Some RestrictionsAugusta-Richmond County requires every dwelling and building to be maintained in safe, sanitary condition, with code…
Read full rule →Bartow County
Some RestrictionsBartow County has adopted the International Property Maintenance Code, with Georgia amendments, as its Property…
Read full rule →Carroll County
Some RestrictionsUnincorporated Carroll County, Georgia enforces the 2012 International Property Maintenance Code under Code § 18-91…
Read full rule →Cherokee County
Some RestrictionsCherokee County makes it unlawful to rent out a dwelling or building that is unfit for human habitation, and gives a…
Read full rule →Clayton County
Some RestrictionsClayton County enforces the 2018 International Property Maintenance Code, as locally amended, against every rental…
Read full rule →Cobb County
Some RestrictionsCobb County enforces the International Property Maintenance Code as its housing code, and expressly extends it to…
Read full rule →Columbus
Some RestrictionsColumbus, Georgia (Muscogee County) adopts the International Property Maintenance Code to set minimum housing standards…
Read full rule →DeKalb County
Some RestrictionsDeKalb County's dwelling code requires every rental to hold indoor heat to at least 68°F and hot water to 120°F, plus…
Read full rule →Dunwoody
Some RestrictionsDunwoody's code compliance program requires every multifamily rental unit to pass an inspection against minimum housing…
Read full rule →Floyd County
Some RestrictionsOwners of dwellings in unincorporated Floyd County must construct and maintain them in conformance with applicable…
Read full rule →Forsyth County
Some RestrictionsForsyth County's only rental-habitability rule applies to licensed short-term rentals: every bedroom and its escape…
Read full rule →Gwinnett County
Some RestrictionsGwinnett County holds rental housing to the International Property Maintenance Code, adopted at Code § 14-349 and…
Read full rule →Hall County
Some RestrictionsUnincorporated Hall County enforces minimum residential habitability standards under the 1994 Standard Housing Code…
Read full rule →Macon Bibb County
Some RestrictionsMacon-Bibb County Code Section 12-243 lets the health department post a conspicuous sign on rental housing that…
Read full rule →Marietta
Some RestrictionsMarietta enforces the 2006 International Property Maintenance Code, adopted and amended at City Code § 7-4-2-100, to…
Read full rule →Newton County
Some RestrictionsNewton County's housing code sets minimum habitability standards for every dwelling unit in the unincorporated county…
Read full rule →Roswell
Some RestrictionsRoswell, Georgia requires multi-family rental units to pass a minimum-standards inspection covering water supply…
Read full rule →Sandy Springs
Some RestrictionsCity Code Sec. 105-101 sets minimum living space for every dwelling unit in Sandy Springs: a bedroom with one occupant…
Read full rule →Warner Robins
Some RestrictionsWarner Robins doesn't write its own minimum-housing code from scratch. Sec. 6-251 adopts the Standard Housing Code by…
Read full rule →Lease Termination & Notice to Vacate
Notice required to end a month-to-month tenancy, the rules and penalties for breaking a fixed-term lease early, and early-termination protections for active-duty military, domestic-violence survivors, and medical hardships.
Eviction Notice & Process
The notice a landlord must give before filing to evict, pay-or-quit and cure-or-quit periods, no-cause termination notice, how long the court eviction process takes in this state, and the tenant's options to respond or cure.
Squatter's Rights & Adverse Possession
When an occupant without a lease gains legal protections, the line between a trespasser and a squatter, how many years of continuous possession adverse possession requires in this state, and how an owner lawfully removes a squatter.