HB708: HB708 Renters' Bill of Rights Act; enact

Georgia's landlord-tenant law currently gives landlords a duty to make certain repairs but does not let tenants act on their own if repairs are ignored, and gives tenants only seven days to answer an eviction (dispossessory) summons or pay overdue rent. House Bill 708, called the 'Renters' Bill of Rights Act,' would change both. If a landlord fails to respond adequately to a repair request within five days, the tenant could hire a licensed professional (one named in the lease or, if none is named, any licensed professional) to do the work and deduct the cost from rent, capped at 50 percent of any single rental installment, with receipts required. The bill also doubles from seven to 14 days the time tenants have to answer an eviction summons, to tender back rent as a defense, and before a writ of possession takes effect. These changes would apply to residential leases entered into or renewed on or after July 1, 2025.

• Lets a tenant hire a licensed professional to make landlord-responsibility repairs if the landlord does not adequately respond within five days, and deduct the cost from rent.
• Caps the rent deduction for self-arranged repairs at 50 percent of a rental installment per month, carrying over unrecovered costs to future installments under the same cap.
• Requires tenants to submit repair receipts to the landlord to qualify for the rent deduction.
• Extends the deadline for a tenant to answer an eviction (dispossessory) summons from 7 to 14 days.
• Extends from 7 to 14 days the window for a tenant to pay all owed rent plus court costs as a complete defense to an eviction case.
• Extends from 7 to 14 days the waiting period after judgment before a writ of possession (the order allowing removal of a tenant) takes effect.

Residential tenants and landlords across Georgia, since the bill amends the state's core landlord-tenant law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 7 of Title 44) governing repairs and eviction procedures for leases signed or renewed on or after July 1, 2025.

Tenants facing unaddressed repairs would gain a concrete way to get problems fixed without suing, while landlords would see rent withheld to cover those costs. Longer response windows in eviction cases would give tenants more time to raise defenses or pay back rent before losing housing.

• Section 1 names the act the 'Renters' Bill of Rights Act.'
• Section 2 adds a new subsection (c) to O.C.G.A. § 44-7-13 allowing tenants to arrange repairs and deduct costs from rent if the landlord does not adequately respond within five days.
• Section 3 amends O.C.G.A. § 44-7-51 to extend the time to answer a dispossessory summons from 7 to 14 days.
• Section 4 amends O.C.G.A. § 44-7-52 to extend the tender-of-payment defense window from 7 to 14 days, while keeping the once-per-12-months limit on landlords having to accept late tender.
• Section 5 amends O.C.G.A. § 44-7-55 to extend the delay before a writ of possession takes effect from 7 to 14 days after judgment.
• Section 6 makes the act apply 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)

• renters' rights
• landlord-tenant law
• eviction process
• rental repairs
• housing law