---
title: HB 399. Property; require certain residential landlords to have in-state staff to manage tenant communications
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb399
cite_as: HB 399, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb399
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb399.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb399/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70200
date: 2025-05-14
status: passed
corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28
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/hb398.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb400.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 1682
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb399.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 399
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-05-14
last_action: Effective Date 2025-07-01
sponsors:
  - Mary Oliver
  - Phil Olaleye
  - Rhonda Burnough
  - Shaw Blackmon
  - Spencer Frye
  - Joseph Gullett
  - Max Burns
text_version: Enrolled
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB399/2025
upstream_id: 1965827
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - landlord-tenant law
  - out-of-state landlords
  - property management
  - code enforcement
  - real estate licensing
---

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

## Text

25 HB 399/AP
House Bill 399 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE)
By: Representatives Oliver of the 84th, Olaleye of the 59th, Burnough of the 77th, Blackmon
of the 146th, Frye of the 122nd, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 2 of Chapter 74 of Title 36 of the Official Co de of Georgia Annotated,1
relating to local enforcement boards created on or after January 1, 2003, so as to require that2
certain information regarding the property managers of certain properties is provided upon3
request of a code enforcement officer; to amend Article 1 of Ch apter 7 of Title 44 of the4
Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to landlords and t enants in general, so as to5
require certain residential landlords to have in-state staff to manage tenant communications6
related to such properties; to amend Chapter 40 of Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia7
Annotated, relating to real estate brokers and salespersons, so as to revise provisions related8
to persons exempted from such chapter; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting9
laws; and for other purposes.10
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:11
SECTION 1.12
Article 2 of Chapter 74 of Title 36 of the Official Code of Geo rgia Annotated, relating to13
local enforcement boards created on or after January 1, 2003, i s amended in Code14
Section 36-74-30, relating to other enforcement methods and probable cause for investigation15
required, by revising subsection (b) as follows:16
H. B. 399
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25 HB 399/AP
"(b) No local government is authorized to perform investigation s or inspections of17
residential rental property unless there is probable cause to believe there is or has been a18
violation or violations of applicable codes, and in no event may a local government require19
the registration of residential rental property. Conditions wh ich appear to be code20
violations which are in plain view may form the basis for proba ble cause. If there is21
probable cause to believe that there is or has been a violation or violations of applicable22
codes on such a property managed by a person licensed pursuant to Chapter 40 of Title 43,23
upon request of a code enforcement officer, the tenant of such property shall provide the24
name, license number, and contact information for the property manger."25
SECTION 2.26
Article 1 of Chapter 7 of Title 44 of the Official Code of Geor gia Annotated, relating to27
landlords and tenants in general, is amended by adding a new Co de section to read as28
follows:29
"44-7-25.30
(a) Any landlord that is not a resident of this state that owns or operates single-family or31
duplex residential rental properties in this state shall employ a broker licensed pursuant to32
Chapter 40 of Title 43, that may or may not reside within this state. If the broker does not33
reside within this state, the broker shall employ at least one person, to be located within this34
state, who shall be responsible for receiving, coordinating, managing, and responding to35
communications from tenants of such landlord related to mainten ance and other issues36
related to such properties.37
(b) The exemptions set forth in paragraphs (7) and (8) of subs ection (a) of Code38
Section 43-40-29 shall not apply to any landlord that is not a resident of this state that owns39
or operates single-family or duplex residential rental properti es as provided for in40
subsection (a) of this Code section."41
H. B. 399
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25 HB 399/AP
SECTION 3.42
Chapter 40 of Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotate d, relating to real estate43
brokers and salespersons, is amended in Code Section 43-40-29, relating to exceptions to44
operation of chapter, by revising subsection (a) as follows:45
"(a) Except as otherwise provided, this chapter shall not apply to:46
(1) Any person who, as owner, as the spouse of an owner, as the family member of an47
owner, as that term is defined in rules promulgated by the Commission, as general partner48
of a limited partnership as a n officer of a limited liability c ompany, as lessor, or as49
prospective purchaser or their regular employees, performs any act with reference to50
property owned, leased, or to be acquired by such owner, limited partnership, lessor, or51
prospective purchaser where such acts are performed in the regu lar course of, or as52
incident to, the management of such property and the investment therein or any person53
who manages residential apartment complexes under a contract approved by any federal54
agency for an organization which is exempt from federal taxes p ursuant to Section55
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, as defined in Code Section 48-1-2, provided that56
such person was engaged in managing such property under such ty pe contract prior to57
January 1, 1989;58
(2) An attorney in fact under a duly executed power of attorne y to convey real estate59
from the owner or lessor;60
(3) A licensed practicing attorney acting solely as an incident to the practice of law;61
(4) Any person acting as receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, admi nistrator, executor, or62
guardian or acting under a court order or under the authority o f a w i l l o r o f a t r u s t63
instrument;64
(5) Any officer or employee of a government agency in the conduct of official duties;65
(6) Any person employed by a public or private utility who per forms any act with66
reference to property owned, leased, or to be acquired by the u tility employing that67
H. B. 399
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25 HB 399/AP
person, where such acts are performed in the regular course of, or as incident to, the68
management of such property and the investment therein;69
(7) Any person who, as owner or through another person engaged by such owner on a70
full-time basis or as owner of a management company whose princ ipals hold a71
controlling ownership of such property , provides property management services or72
community association management services, buys, sells, leases, manages, auctions, or73
otherwise deals with property owned by such person;74
(8) Any person employed on a full-time basis by the owner of property for the purpose75
of providing property management services or community associat ion management76
services, selling, buying, leasing, managing, auctioning, or otherwise dealing with such77
property;78
(8.1) Any person employed on a full-time basis by a community assoc iation for the79
purpose of providing community association management services;80
(9) Any person acting as a referral agent who is not involved in the actual negotiations,81
execution of documents, collection of rent, management of prope rty, or other related82
activity which involves more than the mere referral of one person to another and who:83
(A) Does not receive a fee for such referral from the party being referred;84
(B) Does not charge an advance fee; and85
(C) Does not act as a referral agent in more than three transactions per year;86
(10) Any individual employed by a broker to assist in property management services on87
property on which the broker has a written management agreement that the broker88
procured from and negotiated with the owner, provided that such individual's activities89
are explicitly authorized by the broker in a written agreement between the broker and the90
employee and provided that such activities are limited to one or more of the following:91
(A) Delivering a lease application, a lease, or any amendment thereto to any person;92
H. B. 399
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25 HB 399/AP
(B) Receiving a lease application, a lease, or any amendment t hereto, a security93
deposit, rental payment, or any related payment for delivery to and made payable to the94
broker or the owner;95
(C) Showing a rental unit to any person, provided that the employee is acting under the96
direct instructions of the broker, and executing leases or rental agreements;97
(D) Providing information authorized by the broker about a ren tal unit, a lease98
application, or a lease;99
(E) Providing information to a tenant about the status of such tenant's security deposit100
or rent payments or to an owner about the owner's financial acc ounts and payments101
from the owner's tenants; and102
(F) Performing any ministerial acts that are explicitly author ized by the broker in a103
written agreement between the broker and the employee.104
Any broker utilizing the services of such an employee shall be held responsible under this105
chapter for the activities of that individual;106
(11) Any person who provides property management services on properties available for107
less than 90 days' occupancy by guests or occupants and meets a ll of the following108
conditions:109
(A) The property manager enters into a written agreement with the owner specifying110
all terms and conditions under which the property is to be mana ged, the reporting of111
income and expenses, and the remitting of income to the owner;112
(B) The management agreement between the property manager and the owner does not113
allow the property manager to rent or lease the property and any agreement between the114
property manager and the guest or occupant is not a lease or rental agreement;115
(C) Any applicable zoning laws do not prohibit short-term occu pancy uses of the116
property;117
(D) The guest's or occupant's occupancy is for less than 90 days;118
(E) No deposit exceeds the cost of the rental required for the minimum rental period;119
H. B. 399
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25 HB 399/AP
(F) The guest or occupant pays any required state or local sales taxes or excise taxes120
on rooms, lodgings, and accommodations and the property manager has any required121
state or local business licenses or permits;122
(G) The property manager has the authority to specify rooms or units that the guest or123
occupant will occupy;124
(H) No extra charge is made for basic utilities;125
(I) Notice is not required for a guest or occupant to terminate occupancy of the room126
or unit, except as provided under the provisions of Article 1 of Chapter 21 of this title;127
and128
(J) The room or unit is not the permanent residence of the guest or occupant;129
(12) Any person who is a member of a community association and who provides130
community association management services only to one community association of131
which such person is a member;132
(13) Any person who performs only physical maintenance on a property; or133
(14) A licensed certified public accountant acting solely as an incident to the practice of134
public accounting."135
SECTION 4.136
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.137
H. B. 399
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## 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.

House Bill 399 would require out-of-state landlords who own single-family or duplex rental homes in Georgia to have a licensed broker, and an in-state staff person if that broker lives elsewhere, to handle tenant maintenance requests and complaints.

### Plain-language summary

Right now, an out-of-state owner of Georgia rental houses or duplexes can manage those properties without any requirement to have someone physically in Georgia to respond to tenants. House Bill 399 changes that. It adds a new section to Georgia's landlord-tenant law (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-25) requiring any landlord who does not live in Georgia and owns single-family or duplex rental property here to hire a real estate broker licensed under Georgia law. If that broker also does not live in Georgia, the landlord must have at least one person located in Georgia who receives and responds to tenant communications about maintenance and other property issues.
The bill also narrows who can skip Georgia's real estate broker licensing rules: certain owner-manager exemptions in O.C.G.A. § 43-40-29 no longer apply to these out-of-state landlords. Separately, it amends the code enforcement law (O.C.G.A. § 36-74-30) so that when a licensed broker manages a property under investigation, the tenant must give code enforcement officers the manager's name, license number, and contact information on request.

### What it does

- Requires out-of-state owners of Georgia single-family or duplex rental homes to employ a Georgia-licensed real estate broker to manage the property.
- Requires those landlords to also have at least one person physically located in Georgia to handle tenant maintenance and communication issues if their broker does not live in the state.
- Removes two existing licensing exemptions (for owner-managers and their full-time employees) for out-of-state landlords who own single-family or duplex rentals, so they cannot rely on those exemptions to avoid using a licensed broker.
- Requires tenants to give code enforcement officers the name, license number, and contact information of a licensed property manager when there is probable cause of a code violation.

### Who it affects

Out-of-state owners of single-family and duplex rental homes in Georgia, the licensed real estate brokers and in-state staff they must hire, tenants who rely on those contacts for maintenance issues, and local code enforcement officers investigating suspected code violations.

### Why it matters

Tenants renting from an out-of-state landlord would have a Georgia-based point of contact for repairs and complaints instead of dealing only with an owner who may be difficult to reach. Out-of-state landlords would face new staffing and licensing costs, and code officers would gain an easier way to identify who manages a problem property.

### Key provisions

- Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 36-74-30(b) so that when a licensed broker manages a rental property under code investigation, the tenant must provide the manager's name, license number, and contact information to a code enforcement officer on request.
- Section 2 creates new O.C.G.A. § 44-7-25, requiring non-resident landlords of Georgia single-family or duplex rentals to employ a licensed broker, and an in-state staff person if the broker lives outside Georgia, to manage tenant communications.
- Section 2 also states that the licensing exemptions in paragraphs (7) and (8) of O.C.G.A. § 43-40-29(a) do not apply to these non-resident landlords.
- Section 3 revises O.C.G.A. § 43-40-29(a), listing the categories of people exempt from real estate broker licensing requirements, which remain in effect for other property owners.
- Section 4 repeals any conflicting laws.

## Status

- Status: Passed (2025-05-14)
- Last action: Effective Date 2025-07-01 (2025-05-14)
- Sponsors: Mary Oliver, Phil Olaleye, Rhonda Burnough, Shaw Blackmon, Spencer Frye, Joseph Gullett, Max Burns
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70200

> The history, votes, and amendments (1,682 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb399.md?full=1