Tenants in Georgia have the legal right to repairs for issues that place the property in violation of state health and safety standards. To exercise this right, they must properly notify the landlord in writing and allow a “reasonable time” for the repairs to be made.
Georgia Landlord Responsibilities for Repairs
Landlords in Georgia are responsible for keeping all of the following in good working condition:
- Plumbing
- Heating (in winter)
- Hot water (if provided)
- Common areas
- Anything impacting health, safety, or habitability
If any of the above stops working properly, and the tenant isn’t at fault for the damage, the landlord is the one responsible for making the repairs necessary to fix it.
What Repairs Are Tenants Responsible for in Georgia?
Georgia tenants are responsible for repairing any damage they cause to the property which affects health and safety. The landlord must provide a property that is suitable for human habitation upon move-in, but after that, tenants are responsible for damage they cause beyond normal wear and tear.
Requesting Repairs in Georgia
Georgia tenants must request repairs by notifying the landlord in writing about the issue. While it’s not a legal requirement, the Department of Consumer Affairs specifically recommends that tenants make, and keep, a copy of their dated written repair request.
How Long Does a Landlord Have To Make Repairs in Georgia?
Georgia landlords have a “reasonable time” to complete repairs after getting a written request from the tenant. What’s reasonable depends on all circumstances related to the issue, and gets determined case by case.
Can the Landlord Refuse To Make Repairs in Georgia?
Georgia landlords in general cannot refuse to make otherwise required repairs. The law requires a landlord to provide premises that are fit for human habitation.
Do Landlords Have To Pay for Alternative Accommodation During Repairs in Georgia?
Georgia landlords are not required to pay for alternative accommodation while they conduct repairs.
Tenant’s Rights if Repairs Aren’t Made in Georgia
Georgia tenants can sue for damages or get an injunction if the landlord doesn’t make timely repairs, or repair and deduct from the rent. They can also cancel the rental agreement, in severe cases where an issue substantially prevents the intended use of the premises.
Can the Tenant Withhold Rent in Georgia?
Georgia tenants are not allowed to withhold rent. They can deduct a reasonable portion of rent when doing repairs themselves, but stopping rent payments altogether is grounds for eviction.
Can the Tenant Repair and Deduct in Georgia?
Georgia tenants can conduct repairs and deduct from the rent, if they give notice to the landlord and the landlord fails to complete repairs within a reasonable time.
Can the Tenant Break Their Lease in Georgia?
Georgia tenants can break the lease in certain severe situations. This remedy is available only in constructive evictions, where the landlord’s unlawful action or unlawful failure to act makes the premises substantially unusable for their intended purpose. The tenant must move out to claim constructive eviction.
Can the Tenant Sue in Georgia?
Georgia tenants can sue to force repairs or recover monetary damages, when the landlord fails to make needed repairs within a reasonable amount of time.
Can the Tenant Report the Landlord in Georgia?
Georgia tenants can report landlords for code violations that affect health or safety. Tenants should usually report to the local inspections or code enforcement department. If an inspecting officer finds a violation, the tenant could cancel the rental agreement, or sue to force repairs.
Landlord Retaliation in Georgia
It’s illegal for Georgia landlords to retaliate with raised rent, reduced services, or threatened eviction against tenants who have taken one of the following protected actions in the past 90 days:
- Complaining to the landlord or government about health and safety
- Exercising rights or remedies under the law or lease
- Participating in a tenant organization on issues related to habitability
The law allows an exception when the landlord can prove a non-retaliatory, good-faith reason for the alleged retaliatory action. For example, a landlord who raises rent proportionately in response to a large increase in property tax is not retaliating, even if a tenant has recently complained about maintenance.
Sources
- 1 Ellis v. Hartford Run Apartments, LLC, 335 Ga. App. 118, 121 (Ga. Ct. App. 2015)
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“The landlord’s failure to make repairs within a reasonable time after due notice is given renders him liable to the tenant for damages resulting from the failure to make such repairs. This is true even though the landlord attempts to make repairs since he is responsible until the repairs are actually accomplished.”
Source Link - 2 Swim Dixie Pool Corp. v. Kraemer, 157 Ga. App. 748, 749 (Ga. Ct. App. 1981)
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“Where a landlord covenants to keep premises in repair, his failure to do so, whereby their use by the tenant is impaired, will not work a forfeiture of the rent, unless the premises become untenantable and a constructive eviction results. The remedy of the tenant is, after reasonable opportunity to the landlord, and failure by him to repair, to make the repairs himself and look to the landlord for reimbursement, or to occupy the premises without repair, and hold the landlord responsible for damages by action, or by recoupment to an action for the rent.”
Source Link - 3 State of Ga. Dep’t. of Com’ty. Aff., Georgia Landlord-Tenant Handbook p. 46 (10th ed. 2012)
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Nonbinding legal guidance provided by the Department of Community Affairs typifies the applicable standards: “The tenant should not be charged for repairs caused by ordinary wear and tear. Before a landlord can be required to make a repair, he must be given notice of the defect. The tenant should give the landlord written dated notice of the problem needing repair. The tenant should keep a copy as a record of any such notice.”
Source Link - 4 State of Ga. Dep’t. of Com’ty. Aff., Georgia Landlord-Tenant Handbook p. 46 (10th ed. 2012)
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Nonbinding legal guidance provided by the Department of Community Affairs typifies the applicable standards: “The landlord is responsible for maintaining the building structure and keeping operational systems such as the electric, heating, and plumbing. The landlord is also responsible for repairing any appliances including heating and air conditioning included in the rental unit. A landlord is further responsible for meeting all local ordinances and minimum safety standards.” State of Ga. Dep’t. of Com’ty. Aff., Georgia Landlord-Tenant Handbook p. 46 (10th ed. 2012) For a more recent but summary statement of applicable standards, see also State of Ga. Dep’t of Com’ty Aff., Georgia Landlord-Tenant Handbook: A Landlord-Tenant Guide to the State’s Rental Laws p. 10 (rev. Feb. 2021)
Source Link - 5 Point Apartments, Inc. v. Bryant, 99 Ga. App. 110, 113 (Ga. Ct. App. 1959) (internal citations omitted)
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The tenant’s negligent (or, therefore, also intentional) actions that proximately damage the premises are typically not within the landlord’s responsibility to repair. “Under the law of this State, it is presumed that the premises leased are in a condition suitable for the purposes for which they were rented, and if such is not the case, and damage results therefrom to the tenant, the landlord is liable, provided he has had notice of the defective condition of the premises and has failed after a reasonable time to make the necessary repairs, and provided also that the tenant has not been guilty of such negligence as to bar a recovery by him.”
Source Link - 6 Ga. Code Ann. § 44-7-13
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(a) The landlord shall keep the premises in repair and shall be liable for all substantial improvements placed upon the premises by such landlord’s consent.
(b) Any contract, lease, license, or similar agreement, oral or written, for the use or rental of real property as a dwelling place is deemed to include a provision that the premises is fit for human habitation.
Source Link - 7 Agard v. PRP Prop. Mgmt., LLC, 354 Ga. App. 710, 712 (Ga. Ct. App. 2020)
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“Put another way, [for constructive eviction] there must be proof of either an actual expulsion of the tenant, or some act of a grave and permanent character done by the landlord with the intention of depriving the tenant of the use of the demised premises. An act may be considered grave in character if it renders the premises untenantable or unfit for the use and benefit of the tenant in accomplishing one or more of the substantial purposes of the lease. A tenant must show that her use and enjoyment of the premises is not merely rendered uncomfortable.”
Source Link - 8 Ga. Code Ann. § 44-7-24(a) (2022)
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“A residential tenant establishes a prima-facie case of retaliation by demonstrating that he or she took an action under subsection (b) of this Code section [good-faith exercise of rights and remedies; good-faith complaints to government or landlord about tenantability; or participation in a tenant organization related to habitability] relating to a life, health, safety, or habitability concern and by demonstrating that his or her landlord took an action under subsection (c) of this Code section [eviction; decreasing services; increasing rent; or interference with rights under the rental agreement].” Ga. Code Ann. § 44-7-24(a) (2022) (The statute is extensive and detailed; tenants considering action under this law should take the time to read it carefully.)
Source Link - 9 Ga. Code Ann. § 44-7-24(d)(1) (2022)
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“A landlord shall not be liable for retaliation under this Code section: (1) For increasing rent or reducing services: (A) Under an escalation clause in a written lease for utilities, taxes, or insurance; (B) As part of a pattern of rent increases or for reducing services as part of a pattern of service reductions, for an entire multiunit residential building or complex; or (C) As part of a rent increase due to the terms of the tenant’s or landlord’s participation in a program regulated by this state or the federal government involving the receipt of federal funds, tenant assistance, or tax credits.”
Source Link - 10 Ga. Code Ann. § 44-7-24(d)(2)(A) - (d)(2)(D) (2022)
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“A landlord shall not be liable for retaliation… [for] lease or rental agreement termination in accordance with this chapter based upon one or more of the following circumstances: (A) The tenant is delinquent in rent when the landlord gives notice to vacate or files a dispossessory action; (B) The tenant, a member of the tenant’s family, or a guest or invitee of the tenant intentionally damages property on the premises or by word or conduct threatens the personal safety of the landlord, the landlord’s employees, or another tenant; (C) The tenant has breached… by an action such as violating written lease provisions prohibiting serious misconduct or criminal acts; (D) The tenant holds over…”
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