HB 876: Property; provide residential tenants with the right to complete repairs required by landlord and offset rental installments by the reasonable cost of such repairs under certain circumstances

Under current Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-13), landlords must keep rental property in repair, but tenants have limited options if a landlord ignores needed fixes. This bill defines a 'material defect' as anything the lease requires the landlord to fix, or that is needed to meet building, housing, fire, or health codes, or to keep plumbing, heating and cooling, electrical systems, or required fixtures and appliances working. If a landlord does not repair a material defect within 14 days of written notice, the tenant could hire a licensed professional (one named in the lease or, if none, any licensed professional) to make the repair and then subtract the cost from rent, capped at 50 percent of a rental installment per payment, with receipts required. If the landlord still has not repaired the defect after 60 days, the tenant could give 30 days' notice and end the lease. Landlords could not retaliate against tenants for using these rights, and tenants could sue under the same process used for other landlord-tenant claims. The changes would apply to leases entered into, renewed, modified, or extended on or after July 1, 2025.

• Defines 'material defect' to include code violations and broken plumbing, heating/cooling, electrical, or required appliances and fixtures.
• Lets a tenant hire a licensed repair professional and deduct the reasonable cost from rent if the landlord fails to fix a material defect within 14 days of written notice.
• Caps each rent deduction at 50 percent of that installment, requiring tenants to carry over remaining costs to future rent payments and submit repair receipts to the landlord.
• Allows a tenant to terminate the lease with 30 days' notice if the landlord still has not fixed a material defect 60 days after notice.
• Bars landlords from evicting, refusing to renew, or otherwise retaliating against a tenant for using these repair or termination rights, and lets tenants sue for violations.
• Makes the habitability requirement in rental agreements nonwaivable and applies the new rules to leases signed, renewed, or extended on or after July 1, 2025.

Residential tenants and landlords across Georgia are directly affected, along with licensed repair professionals who tenants might hire. The bill applies to leases entered, renewed, modified, or extended on or after July 1, 2025, so it would not immediately change existing leases signed before that date.

Tenants facing an unresponsive landlord could get repairs done themselves and pay less rent that month instead of waiting indefinitely, and could eventually break the lease if problems persist. Landlords would face new deadlines, documentation requirements, and a ban on retaliating against tenants who use these tools.

• Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 44-7-13 to define 'material defect' covering code compliance, plumbing, HVAC, electrical systems, and required fixtures or appliances.
• Section 1 makes the fitness-for-habitation provision in every rental agreement nonwaivable, meaning landlords and tenants cannot contract it away.
• Section 1 gives tenants a self-help repair-and-deduct remedy if a material defect isn't fixed within 14 days of written notice, capping each rent deduction at 50 percent of the installment.
• Section 1 requires tenants doing shared-facility repairs to notify other affected tenants and minimize disruption to them.
• Section 1 allows lease termination with 30 days' notice if a material defect remains unfixed 60 days after written notice, unless the tenant already used the repair-and-deduct option.
• Section 1 prohibits landlord retaliation for tenants exercising these rights and allows a civil lawsuit using the remedies process in O.C.G.A. § 8-3-217.
• Section 2 applies the changes to residential leases entered into, renewed, modified, or extended on or after July 1, 2025.
• Section 3 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2025-04-02House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-03-31House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-03-28House Hopper (House)

• Robert Flournoy (D, HD-74)Primary sponsor
• Robert Dawson (D, HD-65)
• Anissa Jones (D, HD-143)
• Tangie Herring (D, HD-145)
• Spencer Frye (D, HD-122)

• landlord-tenant law
• rental repairs
• housing habitability
• tenant rights
• property law