HB707: HB707 Landlord and tenant; limitations on rent increases for seniors and veterans; provide

Georgia law currently lets landlords raise rent for existing tenants by any amount when a lease renews. House Bill 707 would create a new limit for a specific group of tenants: people age 62 or older, veterans, or both, whose main income comes from Social Security or VA benefits (including retirement, survivor, supplemental security income, or disability payments). For these tenants, a landlord could not raise rent in any 12 month period by more than the lower of two amounts: 5 percent plus the Consumer Price Index inflation rate, or 10 percent of the lowest rent charged in the prior 12 months. Tenants could raise a landlord's violation of this cap as a defense if the landlord tries to evict them in a dispossessory action. The new rule would apply to leases entered into or renewed on or after July 1, 2025, and the whole provision would automatically expire on January 1, 2035.

• Creates a new Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-25) capping annual rent increases for tenants who are 62 or older, veterans, or both and rely on Social Security or VA benefits as their main income.
• Sets the cap at whichever is lower: 5 percent plus the Consumer Price Index inflation rate, or 10 percent of the lowest rent charged in the prior 12 months.
• Lets a covered tenant raise an illegal rent increase as an affirmative defense and counterclaim if a landlord tries to evict them through a dispossessory action.
• Applies the rule only to leases signed or renewed on or after July 1, 2025.
• Automatically repeals the entire provision on January 1, 2035, ending the rent cap unless lawmakers act again.

Landlords who rent to tenants age 62 or older or veterans whose main income is Social Security or VA benefits, and those tenants themselves. Property owners, leasing agents, and courts handling dispossessory (eviction) cases involving this group would also be affected.

Covered seniors and veterans on fixed incomes would gain a legal cap limiting how much their rent can rise each year, and a defense to raise in eviction court if a landlord exceeds it. Landlords renting to this group would face a new limit on rent increases they don't face with other tenants.

• Section 1 adds new Code section 44-7-25 defining 'dwelling unit,' 'landlord,' 'rent,' 'rental agreement,' 'tenant,' and 'veteran' for purposes of the cap.
• The tenant definition requires the person to be 62 or older or a veteran, and to rely primarily on Social Security or VA benefit payments as income.
• Subsection (b) caps 12 month rent increases at the lower of 5 percent plus the CPI inflation rate, or 10 percent of the lowest rent charged in the prior 12 months.
• Subsection (c) makes an excessive rent increase an affirmative defense and counterclaim in eviction (dispossessory) proceedings against the tenant.
• Subsection (d) automatically repeals the new Code section on January 1, 2035.
• Section 2 limits the law's applicability to residential leases entered into or renewed on or after July 1, 2025.

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

• Solomon Adesanya (D, HD-043)Primary sponsor
• Terry Cummings (D, HD-039)
• Marvin Lim (D, HD-098)

• rent increases
• senior housing
• veterans
• landlord tenant law
• eviction defense