---
title: HB 707. Landlord and tenant; limitations on rent increases for seniors and veterans; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb707
cite_as: HB 707, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb707
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb707.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb707/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71075
date: 2025-03-06
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-12
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/hb706.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb708.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb707.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 707
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-03-03
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Solomon Adesanya
- Terry Cummings
- Marvin Lim
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB707/2025
upstream_id: 1990319
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- rent increases
- senior housing
- veterans
- landlord tenant law
- eviction defense
---
# HB 707. Landlord and tenant; limitations on rent increases for seniors and veterans; provide
## Text
House Bill 707
By: Representatives Adesanya of the 43rd, Cummings of the 39th, and Lim of the 98th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 7 of Title 44 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
landlord and tenant, so as to provide for limitations on rent increases for seniors and veterans;
to provide for definitions; to provide for defense in dispossessory actions; to provide for an
automatic repeal; to provide for applicability; to provide for related matters; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 7 of Title 44 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to landlord and
tenant, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"44-7-25.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Dwelling unit' means a structure, or a room or group of rooms within a structure, that
is used as a primary residence by a tenant.
(2) 'Landlord' means an owner of record, agent, lessor, or sublessor, or the successor in
interest thereof, of a dwelling unit.
(3) 'Rent' means the consideration demanded or received in connection with the use and
occupancy of a dwelling unit. Such term does not include a security deposit or other fund
held in trust for the tenant but includes other fees, costs, and consideration, regardless of
whether such fee, cost, or consideration is denominated as rent.
(4) 'Rental agreement' means an oral, written, or implied agreement between a landlord
and a tenant for use or occupancy of a dwelling unit and associated services.
(5) 'Tenant' means an individual who is entitled by a rental agreement, subtenancy
approved by the landlord, or sufferance to occupy a dwelling unit and:
(A) Who is 62 years of age or older, a veteran, or both; and
(B) Whose primary source of income is from payments received pursuant to the federal
Social Security Act or the federal Veterans' Benefits Act, including retirement and
survivor's benefits, supplemental security income benefits, and disability income
benefits.
(6) 'Veteran' means an individual who served on active duty in the armed forces of the
United States and who was honorably discharged from such service.
(b) No landlord shall, over the course of a 12 month period, renew the rental agreement
or enter into a new rental agreement for a dwelling unit with the existing tenant of such
dwelling unit that increases the rent payable by the existing tenant for such dwelling unit
more than the lower of:
(1) Five percent of the lowest rent charged for that dwelling unit at any time during
the 12 months prior to the date on which the increase takes effect, plus the percentage rate
of change over such 12 month period reflected in the Consumer Price Index as reported
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor; or
(2) Ten percent of the lowest rent charged for that dwelling unit at any time during the 12
months prior to the date on which the increase takes effect.
(c) It shall be an affirmative defense and counterclaim in any dispossessory action filed
against a tenant that the landlord has charged rent in excess of the amount allowed under
this Code section.
(d) This Code section shall stand automatically repealed on January 1, 2035."
SECTION 2.
This Act shall apply to residential lease agreements that are entered into or renewed on or
after July 1, 2025.
SECTION 3.
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.
House Bill 707 would cap yearly rent increases for senior and veteran tenants on Social Security or VA benefits, limiting hikes to whichever is lower: a set percentage plus inflation, or 10 percent.
### Plain-language summary
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.
### What it does
- Creates a new Georgia law (O.C.G.A. ยง 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.
### Who it affects
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.
### Why it matters
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.
### Key provisions
- 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.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-03-03)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2025-03-06)
- Sponsors: Solomon Adesanya, Terry Cummings, Marvin Lim
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71075
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb707.md?full=1