HB 399: Property; require certain residential landlords to have in-state staff to manage tenant communications

Currently, tenants and local code enforcement officers in Georgia don't always have an easy way to identify or reach the company managing a rental property, especially when the landlord lives out of state. This bill changes that in a few ways. First, it lets code enforcement officers who have probable cause of a code violation ask a tenant for the name, license number, and contact information of a licensed property manager. Second, it creates a new requirement (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-25) that any landlord who does not live in Georgia but owns or operates single-family or duplex rental homes here must hire a licensed real estate broker, and if that broker also lives outside Georgia, the broker must have at least one staff member physically located in Georgia to receive and handle tenant communications about maintenance and other property issues. The bill also narrows who is exempt from Georgia's real estate licensing law (O.C.G.A. § 43-40-29), removing an exemption that let owners use a self-managed employee or management company to avoid licensing requirements, while adding a narrower exemption for family members and LLC officers. It does not include a separate effective date section, so it would take effect once signed into law.

• Lets code enforcement officers, when they have probable cause of a code violation, require a tenant to hand over the property manager's name, license number, and contact information.
• Requires any landlord who does not live in Georgia and who owns single-family or duplex rental homes in the state to hire a licensed real estate broker to manage the property.
• Requires that broker, if the broker also lives outside Georgia, to employ at least one Georgia-based staff member to handle tenant maintenance communications.
• Removes two existing exemptions from real estate licensing law for owner-managed or company-managed rental property, so those out-of-state landlords can no longer use them to avoid hiring a licensed broker.
• Adds new, narrower exemptions to the licensing law for an owner's family members and for officers of a limited liability company that owns the property.

Out-of-state landlords who own single-family or duplex rental homes in Georgia, the licensed real estate brokers and property managers they must hire, tenants of those properties, local code enforcement officers, and property owners who currently rely on self-managed or company-managed exemptions from real estate licensing law.

Tenants dealing with maintenance problems or code violations at homes owned by out-of-state landlords would gain a Georgia-based contact required to respond to their complaints. Local governments would also gain a way to identify licensed property managers during code violation investigations, though only when there's already probable cause of a violation.

• Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 36-74-30(b) so that when there is probable cause of a code violation on a property managed by a licensed real estate professional, the tenant must provide that manager's name, license number, and contact information to a code enforcement officer upon request.
• Section 2 creates new O.C.G.A. § 44-7-25, requiring non-resident landlords of single-family or duplex rentals in Georgia to employ a licensed broker, and requiring that broker to have at least one Georgia-based staff member if the broker does not live in the state.
• Section 2 also strips those non-resident landlords of two existing exemptions (paragraphs 7 and 8 of O.C.G.A. § 43-40-29(a)) from real estate licensing requirements.
• Section 3 revises O.C.G.A. § 43-40-29(a) by removing the exemption for owners who manage property through a full-time employee or a management company with controlling ownership, and removing the separate full-time-employee exemption entirely.
• Section 3 adds new exemption language covering an owner's family members (as defined by Real Estate Commission rules) and officers of a limited liability company that owns the property.
• Section 4 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-07-01Effective Date
2. 2025-05-14Act 315
3. 2025-05-14House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-10House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-04-04House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
6. 2025-04-04Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
7. 2025-04-04Senate Third Read (Senate)
8. 2025-04-04Senate Taken from Table (Senate)

• Mary Margaret Oliver (D, HD-84)Primary sponsor
• Phil Olaleye (D, HD-59)
• Rhonda Burnough (D, HD-77)
• Shaw Blackmon (R, HD-146)
• Spencer Frye (D, HD-122)
• Joseph Gullett (R, HD-19)
• Max Burns (R, SD-23)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 3, 2025

   163 yea, 4 nay (6 not voting, 7 excused)

   PASSAGE: House Vote #136

2. PassedSenate voteApril 4, 2025

   41 yea, 9 nay (4 not voting, 2 excused)

   PASSAGE BY SUBSTITUTE: Senate Vote #464

3. PassedHouse voteApril 4, 2025

   159 yea, 5 nay (5 not voting, 11 excused)

   Agree to Senate Substitute: House Vote #447

• landlord-tenant law
• rental property management
• real estate licensing
• code enforcement
• out-of-state landlords