HB710: HB710 Landlord and tenant; certain limits on increases in rental amounts charged for residential properties; provide

Georgia landlords currently face no state limit on how much they can raise rent from year to year. House Bill 710 would change that by adding a new law, O.C.G.A. § 44-7-25, that limits rent increases on most residential rental properties. Landlords could not raise rent during a fixed lease term unless the lease itself allows it, could not raise rent by more than 3 percent above the lowest rent charged in the prior 12 months, and would have to give at least 120 days notice before any increase. Increases for tenants who are students or senior citizens (as defined in the bill) would be capped at 2 percent a year. Certain properties are excluded: buildings built after 2024 (for 15 years), government-subsidized housing, and University System or Technical College System dormitories. Qualifying low-income senior tenants who have rented the same unit for more than five years could exercise a one-time option to freeze their rent for up to five years. Violating these limits would count as an unfair or deceptive trade practice under the Fair Business Practices Act and could be raised as a defense in eviction cases. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it and would apply to leases entered into, renewed, or extended after that date.

• Creates a new Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-25) capping most residential rent increases at 3 percent above the lowest rent charged in the prior 12 months.
• Limits rent increases for tenants who are students or senior citizens, as defined in the bill, to 2 percent per year.
• Requires landlords to give tenants at least 120 days notice before any rent increase and bars increases mid-lease unless the lease allows it.
• Lets qualifying low-income senior tenants who have rented the same home for more than five years freeze their rent for up to five lease years, one time only.
• Makes any violation of these rent limits an unfair or deceptive trade practice under Georgia's Fair Business Practices Act (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393), and lets tenants raise a violation as a defense in eviction cases.
• Exempts newly built housing (for 15 years after construction), government-subsidized housing, and University System or Technical College System dorms from the rent limits.

Residential landlords and property managers across Georgia, tenants generally, and specifically tenants who are students or senior citizens, whose rent increases would be capped more tightly and who get added protections against being denied or evicted based on that status.

If enacted, tenants in covered properties would know in advance the maximum their rent could rise each year and would get more notice before an increase, while some low-income senior renters could lock in their rent for years. Landlords of covered properties would face new limits on pricing and a new legal exposure for violations.

• Section 1 adds violations of the new rent-limit law as a new example of an unfair or deceptive trade practice under the Fair Business Practices Act (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393).
• Section 2 creates O.C.G.A. § 44-7-25, defining terms including 'residential property,' 'rental amount,' 'student,' 'senior citizen,' and 'rental freeze option.'
• Subsection (b) bars mid-lease rent increases unless the lease allows them, caps annual increases at 3 percent generally and 2 percent for student or senior tenants, and requires 120 days notice.
• Subsection (c) gives qualifying low-income senior tenants with more than five years at the same property a one-time right to freeze rent for up to five lease years, subject to income verification.
• Subsection (e) makes an unlawful rent increase an affirmative defense or counterclaim in eviction or dispossessory proceedings.
• Subsection (f) bars landlords from ending or refusing to renew a tenancy, or refusing to rent, based on a tenant's status as a student or senior citizen.
• Section 3 sets the effective date as the date the Governor signs the bill (or it becomes law without signature), applying to leases and renewals entered into on or after that date.

1. 2025-03-06House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-03-04House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-03-03House Hopper (House)

• Derrick Jackson (D, HD-068)Primary sponsor
• Billy Mitchell (D, HD-088)
• Gabriel Sanchez (D, HD-042)
• Sandra Scott (D, HD-076)
• Kim Schofield (D, HD-063)

• rent control
• landlord tenant law
• housing affordability
• senior citizens
• consumer protection