Georgia Bans Local Rent Control

Georgia is a strong landlord-freedom state on rent. O.C.G.A. § 44-7-19 provides that "no county or municipal corporation may enact, maintain, or enforce any ordinance or resolution which would regulate in any way the amount of rent to be charged for privately owned, single-family or multiple-unit residential rental property." The statute carves out only property owned by the local government itself or by an authority it creates, and agreements those entities voluntarily enter. There is no statewide rent cap or rent-stabilization scheme of any kind. For tenancies at will, O.C.G.A. § 44-7-7 requires 60 days' notice from the landlord to terminate or change terms, but that notice rule does not limit the size of an increase.

Because no Georgia jurisdiction may regulate private rents, a local rent-control ordinance would be preempted and unenforceable under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-19. There is no penalty schedule for rent increases themselves; a landlord need only follow the lease terms and the applicable advance-notice requirement before raising rent.