--- title: 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 collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb876 cite_as: HB 876, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb876 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb876.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb876/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71843 date: 2025-04-02 status: introduced 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/hb875.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb877.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 129 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb876.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 876 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-03-28 last_action: House Second Readers sponsors: - Robert Flournoy - Robert Dawson - Anissa Jones - Tangie Herring - Spencer Frye text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB876/2025 upstream_id: 2016623 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - landlord-tenant law - rental repairs - tenant rights - housing habitability - lease termination --- # 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 ## Text 25 LC 60 0158 House Bill 876 By: Representatives Flournoy of the 74th, Dawson of the 65th, Jones of the 143rd, Herring of the 145th, and Frye of the 122nd A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Chapter 7 of Title 44 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to1 landlord and tenant, so as to provide residential tenants with the right to complete repairs2 required by the landlord and offset rental installments by the reasonable cost of such repairs3 under certain circumstances; to provide residential tenants with the right to terminate a rental4 agreement under certain circumstances; to prohibit the landlord from taking adverse action5 against residential tenants under certain circumstances; to provide for a civil right of action6 and remedies; to provide a definition; to provide for applicabi lity; to provide for related7 matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.8 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:9 SECTION 1.10 Chapter 7 of Title 44 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated , relating to landlord and11 tenant, is amended by revising Code Section 44-7-13, relating to landlord's duties as to 12 repairs and improvements, as follows:13 H. B. 876 - 1 - 25 LC 60 0158 "44-7-13.14 (a) As used in this Code section, the term 'material defect' means a defect for which repair15 is required by the landlord under the terms of the rental agree ment or for which repair is16 required to ensure that:17 (1) The premises is compliant with all applicable building, housing, fire, or health codes18 or regulations;19 (2) The premises has plumbing and sewer systems in good working condition, including,20 but not limited to, access to hot and cold running water;21 (3) The premises has heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems in good working22 condition;23 (4) The premises has electrical systems in good working condition; and24 (5) Any fixtures or appliances supplied or required to be supplied by the landlord are in25 good working condition.26 (a)(b) The landlord shall keep the premises in repair and shall be liable for all substantial27 improvements placed upon the premises by such landlord's consent.28 (b)(c) Any contract, lease, license, or similar agreement, oral or written, for the use or rental29 of real property as a dwelling place is deemed to include a nonwaivable provision that the30 premises is fit for human habitation.31 (d)(1) If, within 14 days of receiving written notice of a material defect, the landlord fails32 to repair such defect, the tenant may complete the repair through a preapproved licensed33 professional named in the lease agreement or identified by the landlord at the time the34 premises is rented or through any licensed professional if no s uch professional is35 preapproved by the landlord. After the repair is complete, the tenant may reduce the36 amount of the next rental installment due by the cost of such repair; provided, however,37 that the amount of such reduction shall not exceed 50 percent of the rental installment due38 and the tenant shall submit receipts for the repair to the land lord. If such repair costs39 exceed 50 percent of the rental installment due, the tenant may reduce subsequent rental40 H. B. 876 - 2 - 25 LC 60 0158 installments until such costs are recovered, provided that no d eduction shall exceed41 50 percent of any rental installment due. A tenant shall not be entitled to reduce any rental42 installment for a repair made pursuant to this paragraph in an amount greater than the43 reasonable cost of such repair. Before repairing a material de fect affecting facilities44 shared by more than one dwelling unit, the tenant shall notify all other tenants sharing45 such facilities of the plans for the repair and shall arrange t he repair so as to create the46 least practicable inconvenience to the other tenants.47 (2) If, within 60 days of receiving written notice of a materi al defect, the landlord fails48 to repair such defect, the tenant may, after 30 days' written n otice to the landlord,49 terminate the lease, provided that the tenant has not started o r completed such repair50 pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection.51 (e)(1) No landlord shall, based on a tenant's exercise of any rights provided under this52 Code section, terminate a rental agreement, refuse to renew a rental agreement, or take any53 other adverse action against a tenant.54 (2) If a landlord, based on a tenant's exercise of any rights provided under this Code55 section, terminates a rental agreement, refuses to renew a rental agreement, or takes any56 other adverse action against a tenant, the aggrieved tenant may commence a civil action57 in the same manner and may seek the same remedies as provided i n Code58 Section 8-3-217."59 SECTION 2.60 This Act shall apply to residential rental or lease agreements that are entered into on or after61 July 1, 2025, and to any renewals, modifications, or extensions of such agreements entered62 into on or after such date.63 SECTION 3.64 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.65 H. B. 876 - 3 - ## 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 let residential tenants fix certain landlord-required repairs themselves and deduct the cost from rent if the landlord doesn't act in time, and would let tenants end their lease if repairs drag on too long. ### Plain-language summary Under current Georgia law, landlords must keep rental properties in repair and habitable, but tenants have limited options if a landlord ignores needed fixes. This bill amends Georgia's landlord-tenant law (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-13) to define a 'material defect' as anything that violates building, housing, fire, or health codes, or that leaves plumbing, heating and cooling, electrical systems, or required fixtures and appliances not working properly. If a landlord does not fix a material defect within 14 days of written notice, the tenant could hire a licensed professional (one named in the lease or any licensed professional if none was named) to make the repair, then deduct the cost from rent, capped at 50 percent of a rental installment, spreading the cost over multiple months if needed and providing receipts. If the landlord still hasn't fixed the defect after 60 days, the tenant could give 30 days' notice and terminate the lease instead, as long as they haven't already started their own repair. Landlords could not retaliate against tenants who use these rights, and tenants could sue under the same process used for other landlord retaliation claims. The changes would apply to leases entered into, renewed, or extended on or after July 1, 2025. ### What it does - Defines 'material defect' to include code violations and broken plumbing, heating/cooling, electrical, or required fixtures and appliances. - Lets tenants hire a licensed repair professional and deduct the reasonable repair 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 rental installment, letting tenants spread larger repair costs across multiple months' rent. - Allows tenants to terminate their lease with 30 days' notice if the landlord hasn't fixed a material defect within 60 days of notice, unless the tenant already started their own repair. - Bars landlords from terminating, refusing to renew, or otherwise retaliating against tenants who use these repair or termination rights. - Gives tenants a civil right to sue landlords who retaliate, using the same process and remedies available for other landlord retaliation claims. ### Who it affects Residential tenants and their landlords across Georgia are directly affected, along with licensed repair professionals tenants may hire. The bill applies to residential leases entered into, renewed, or extended on or after July 1, 2025. ### Why it matters Tenants facing unresponsive landlords would gain a concrete way to get repairs done and pay for them out of rent, or to walk away from the lease, instead of relying solely on habitability lawsuits. Landlords would face new deadlines and a ban on retaliating against tenants who use these new options. ### Key provisions - Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 44-7-13 to add a definition of 'material defect' covering code violations and broken plumbing, heating/cooling, electrical, and required fixtures or appliances. - New subsection (d)(1) lets tenants complete repairs themselves through a licensed professional and deduct the cost from rent if the landlord doesn't act within 14 days of written notice, capping each deduction at 50 percent of a rental installment. - Tenants repairing shared facilities must notify other affected tenants and minimize inconvenience to them before starting work, under subsection (d)(1). - New subsection (d)(2) allows lease termination with 30 days' notice if the landlord fails to fix the defect within 60 days, as long as the tenant hasn't already started the repair. - New subsection (e) prohibits landlords from retaliating against tenants who exercise these rights and lets tenants sue for retaliation using the remedies in O.C.G.A. § 8-3-217. - Section 2 applies the changes only to residential leases entered into, renewed, or extended on or after July 1, 2025. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-03-28) - Last action: House Second Readers (2025-04-02) - Sponsors: Robert Flournoy, Robert Dawson, Anissa Jones, Tangie Herring, Spencer Frye - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71843 > The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb876.md?full=1