---
title: HB 1171. Landlord and tenant; establish minimum habitability standards consistent with recognized housing standards
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1171
cite_as: HB 1171, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1171
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1171.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1171/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72782
date: 2026-02-05
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1170.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1172.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1171.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1171
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-02-03
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Spencer Frye
- Mary Oliver
- Mary Williams
- Carl Gilliard
- Lydia Glaize
- Doreen Carter
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1171/2025
upstream_id: 2106683
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- landlord tenant law
- housing habitability
- rental housing
- renters rights
- property maintenance
---
# HB 1171. Landlord and tenant; establish minimum habitability standards consistent with recognized housing standards
## Text
House Bill 1171
By: Representatives Frye of the 122nd, Oliver of the 84th, Williams of the 37th, Gilliard of the
162nd, Glaize of the 67th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 1 of Chapter 7 of Title 44 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to general provisions regarding landlord and tenant, so as to establish minimum
habitability standards consistent with recognized housing standards; to prohibit waivers of
such standards; to provide for enforcement and clarification of existing landlord duties; to
provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article 1 of Chapter 7 of Title 44 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
general provisions regarding landlord and tenant, is amended by revising Code
Section 44-7-13, relating to landlord's duties as to repairs and improvements, as follows:
"44-7-13.
(a) The landlord shall keep the premises in repair and shall be liable for all substantial
improvements placed upon the premises by such landlord's consent.
(b) Any contract, lease, license, or similar agreement, oral or written, for the use or rental
of real property as a dwelling place is deemed to include a nonwaivable provision that the
premises is fit for human habitation.
(c) In order to provide and maintain the premises in a condition that is fit for human
habitation, a landlord shall:
(1) Comply with the requirements of all applicable building and housing codes
materially affecting health and safety;
(2) Make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit
and habitable condition;
(3) Keep all common areas of the premises in a clean and safe condition;
(4) Maintain in good and safe working order and condition all electrical, plumbing,
sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, and other facilities and appliances,
including elevators, supplied or required to be supplied by the landlord;
(5) Provide and maintain appropriate receptacles and conveniences for the removal of
ashes, garbage, rubbish, and other waste, incidental to the occupancy of the dwelling unit,
and arrange for their removal; and
(6) Supply running water and reasonable amounts of hot water at all times and
reasonable heat.
(d) If a landlord's noncompliance with the rental agreement or this Code section results in
the tenant not receiving an essential service, materially interferes with the health or safety
of the tenant or an immediate family member of the tenant, or materially interferes with the
use and enjoyment of the premises by the tenant or an immediate family member of the
tenant, and the noncompliance is not remedied within one week of notice of
noncompliance, the tenant may:
(1) Terminate the rental agreement; or
(2) Continue the rental agreement and elect to use one or more of the following
remedies:
(A) Withhold rent for the period of noncompliance beginning on the date the tenant
notifies the landlord of such noncompliance;
(B) Recover actual damages in a court of competent jurisdiction;
(C) Obtain injunctive relief, specific performance, or other equitable relief in a court
of competent jurisdiction;
(D) Make repairs and deduct the reasonable cost of such repairs from the rent; or
(E) Secure an essential service that the landlord is obligated to provide or comparable
substitute housing during the period of noncompliance.
(e) If a landlord's noncompliance with the rental agreement or this Code section does not
materially interfere with the health or safety of the tenant or an immediate family member
of the tenant or materially interfere with the use and enjoyment of the premises by the
tenant or an immediate family member of the tenant, the tenant may elect one or more of
the remedies provided in subparagraphs (c)(2)(B), (c)(2)(C), and (c)(2)(D) of this Code
section.
(f) Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to relieve a tenant of the obligation to:
(1) Maintain the dwelling unit in a reasonably clean and safe condition; and
(2) Refrain from deliberate or negligent destruction of property beyond ordinary wear
and tear."
SECTION 2.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
A Georgia House bill would spell out specific health and safety duties landlords must meet to keep rental housing livable, and would give tenants new remedies, including rent withholding, when landlords fail to fix serious problems.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia law already says rental housing must be fit for human habitation, but current law (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-13) does not spell out exactly what that means. This bill rewrites that section to list concrete landlord duties: following building and housing codes, making necessary repairs, keeping common areas clean and safe, maintaining electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling systems, providing trash removal, and supplying running water, hot water, and heat. It also declares that the promise of habitable housing cannot be waived by a lease or rental agreement.
The bill creates a process for tenants when a landlord fails to meet these duties. If a problem is not fixed within one week of notice and it affects an essential service, health, safety, or use of the home, the tenant can end the lease or keep it and pursue remedies such as withholding rent, suing for damages, seeking a court order, making repairs and deducting the cost, or arranging substitute services or housing. Lesser problems limit tenants to a narrower set of remedies. Tenants still must keep the unit clean and avoid causing damage beyond normal wear.
### What it does
- Adds a detailed list of landlord habitability duties to Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-13), covering code compliance, repairs, common areas, utilities, waste removal, and heat and hot water.
- Makes the requirement that rental housing be fit for human habitation nonwaivable, meaning landlords and tenants cannot sign it away in a lease.
- Gives tenants the right to terminate their lease if a serious habitability problem is not fixed within one week of notifying the landlord.
- Allows tenants to withhold rent, sue for damages, get a court order, make repairs and deduct the cost, or arrange substitute housing or services when serious problems go unfixed.
- Limits tenants facing less serious landlord failures to damages, court orders, or repair-and-deduct remedies, without allowing lease termination or rent withholding.
- Keeps in place tenants' existing duty to maintain their unit reasonably and avoid causing damage beyond normal wear and tear.
### Who it affects
Georgia renters and their landlords are directly affected, since the bill rewrites the baseline habitability duties in every residential lease. Property management companies, landlord-tenant attorneys, and Georgia courts handling eviction or repair disputes would also apply these new standards and remedies.
### Why it matters
Tenants facing broken heat, plumbing, or unsafe common areas would gain specific, enforceable rights, including withholding rent or breaking a lease, rather than relying on a vague habitability standard. Landlords would face clearer, unwaivable repair obligations and a defined one-week window to fix serious problems before tenants can act.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 44-7-13(b) to make the fitness-for-habitation guarantee nonwaivable in any lease or rental agreement, oral or written.
- New subsection (c) lists six specific landlord duties, including code compliance, repairs, common area upkeep, utility maintenance, waste removal, and heat and hot water.
- New subsection (d) lets tenants terminate the lease or choose remedies like rent withholding, damages, injunctive relief, repair-and-deduct, or substitute housing if a serious noncompliance is not fixed within one week of notice.
- New subsection (e) limits tenants to damages, equitable relief, or repair-and-deduct remedies when the landlord's noncompliance does not materially affect health, safety, or use of the home.
- New subsection (f) preserves tenants' existing duties to keep the unit clean and safe and avoid deliberate or negligent damage beyond normal wear and tear.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-02-03)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2026-02-05)
- Sponsors: Spencer Frye, Mary Oliver, Mary Williams, Carl Gilliard, Lydia Glaize, Doreen Carter
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72782
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1171.md?full=1