Money and Risk | Rent and Landlord Rules

Georgia Landlord Rules for Duplex and Fourplex Owners (Atlanta, 2026)

An owner who rents out the homes in an Atlanta duplex or fourplex works under Georgia's landlord and tenant law. The state sets the rules on rent regulation, deposits, repairs, notices and evictions, and the City of Atlanta adds a license for short-term rentals. This page covers the state law on rent regulation, the 2024 Safe at Home Act, two 2025 laws, the deposit rules that depend on how many units you own, the steps of an eviction for unpaid rent, and Atlanta's short-term rental license. The facts come from signed Georgia bills, the state's Landlord Tenant Handbook and the Atlanta City Code.

The State Laws That Apply, by Year

Each row was read from the linked bill text. Signed bills are the "as passed House and Senate" versions published by the Governor's office.

Rent Regulation: Code Section 44-7-19

Georgia has a state law on what cities and counties may do about rents. It is Code Section 44-7-19. The General Assembly's own description of the section appears in two bills from the 2025-2026 session. House Bill 299 states its purpose this way: "so as to repeal Code Section 44-7-19, relating to restrictions on rent regulation by local governments." Senate Bill 106 uses the same words.

Both bills would have repealed the section. Neither became law. HB 299 and SB 106 are absent from the Governor's lists of signed legislation for 2025 and 2026. Code Section 44-7-19 was therefore still law on October 7, 2026.

For an owner, the practical meaning is that rent regulation in Atlanta is a matter of state law. The City of Atlanta is a local government, and the section restricts what a local government may do.

This guide says no more than that. VanPlex could not read the full wording of Section 44-7-19, because the official code site and public copies block automated reading. So this page quotes the bill text only and describes no detail of the section. If your project depends on the exact wording, have a Georgia attorney read the section.

The lease still controls rent during its term. The state's Landlord Tenant Handbook says: "Rent can only be increased during a lease if the lease says that may happen." For a tenant-at-will, "the landlord must give 60 days' notice of any rent increases." A tenant-at-will is a tenant who never had a written lease, or whose written lease expired and who stayed with the landlord's permission.

The Safe at Home Act (HB 404, 2024)

HB 404 is short, and it changed four sections of Georgia's landlord and tenant chapter. Section 6 of the Act sets its reach: it applies "to residential lease agreements that are entered into or renewed on or after July 1, 2024."

• Repairs and habitability (Code Section 44-7-13). The landlord "shall keep the premises in repair." And 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." The rule applies even when the lease is silent, and to an oral agreement.
• Utilities (Code Section 44-7-14.1). "The term 'utilities' means cooling, heat, light, and water service." Cooling is on the list.
• Deposit limit (new Code Section 44-7-30.1). "No landlord shall demand or receive a security deposit in an amount that exceeds the equivalent of two months' rent."
• Notice before filing for unpaid rent (Code Section 44-7-50). The owner may go to court only after the tenant has been "provided with a notice to vacate or pay all past due rent, late fees, utilities, and other charges owed to the landlord within three business days."

The notice has a set method of delivery. It "shall be posted in a sealed envelope conspicuously on the door of the property and delivered via any additional method or methods agreed upon in the rental agreement." Write the additional method into your lease, for example email, and use both every time.

The deposit limit has no exception for small landlords in the text of the Act. An owner who rents one side of a duplex is covered in the same way as a company with hundreds of apartments.

The handbook explains the utilities rule in practice: during an eviction case, "it is illegal for a landlord to knowingly and willfully turn off utilities (heat, cooling, light, and water service) until after the judge makes a final decision." It also says that "self-help evictions by the landlord are illegal." A landlord cannot remove a tenant, or block the tenant's access to the home, without the court process.

Deposit and Inspection Rules That Depend on How Many Units You Own

Some Georgia deposit rules apply to every landlord. Others apply only to landlords "who own more than ten (10) rental units, including units owned by their spouses and/or children, or who contract with a management agent," in the words of the state handbook. One duplex or one fourplex is under that number. An owner who hires a management agent is covered by the longer list whatever number of homes they own.

Source: Georgia Department of Community Affairs, Georgia Landlord Tenant Handbook, revised 8-29-24, and HB 404 (2024) for the deposit limit.

The 30-day rule is the one every owner must plan for. The handbook says: "All landlords, regardless of the number of units owned, must return the security deposit within thirty (30) days after termination of the lease or the date that the tenants leave the premises, whichever occurs last." If the landlord keeps money for damage, the landlord "must send the tenants notice within thirty (30) days identifying the damage, the estimated dollar amount of the damage, and a refund, if any."

The handbook lists what a landlord may keep money for: damage caused by the tenant, household members, pets or guests; unpaid rent or late charges; unpaid pet fees; unpaid utilities that were the tenant's responsibility; and damage caused by early termination. Normal wear and tear is excluded. When a building is sold, the former owner must transfer each deposit to the new owner or refund it to the tenant.

The management agent test matters under a 2025 law. An owner who lives outside Georgia and rents out a single-family home or a duplex must now employ a licensed broker, as the next section explains. Ask your attorney whether that arrangement brings the escrow and inspection rules into force for your building.

Two Laws From 2025: HB 399 and HB 270

HB 399: no local rental registry, and a broker for owners outside Georgia

HB 399 (2025) made two changes that matter to a small landlord. First, it revised Code Section 36-74-30(b), which limits what local code enforcement may do: "No local government is authorized to perform investigations or inspections of residential rental property unless there is probable cause to believe there is or has been a violation or violations of applicable codes, and in no event may a local government require the registration of residential rental property." Probable cause means a reasonable ground to believe a violation exists, and the law adds that "conditions which appear to be code violations which are in plain view may form the basis for probable cause."

Second, it added Code Section 44-7-25: "Any landlord that is not a resident of this state that owns or operates single-family or duplex residential rental properties in this state shall employ a broker licensed pursuant to Chapter 40 of Title 43." The broker may live in Georgia or elsewhere. A broker who lives elsewhere "shall employ at least one person, to be located within this state, who shall be responsible for receiving, coordinating, managing, and responding to communications from tenants."

The section names single-family and duplex rentals. It does not name triplexes or fourplexes. An owner outside Georgia who holds a three- or four-home building should ask a Georgia attorney how the broker licensing chapter applies to them, because HB 399 also removes two exemptions in that chapter for the landlords it covers.

HB 270: who may serve an eviction summons

HB 270 (2025), the "Eviction Service Act," amended Code Section 44-7-51. The court now issues the summons "to the sheriff or his or her deputy, or to any lawful constable of the county where the land is located, or an approved process server." The section sets the order of service. The summons and affidavit are served on the tenant in person. If that cannot be done, they are delivered to a competent adult who lives on the premises. If no such person is found after reasonable effort, a copy is posted on the door and another is mailed by first-class mail on the same day.

An Eviction for Unpaid Rent, Step by Step

Sources: HB 404 (2024), HB 270 (2025) and the Georgia Landlord Tenant Handbook. The handbook was revised on August 29, 2024, before the 2025 laws.

The handbook says the court process is the only way: "In Georgia, landlords cannot kick out a tenant or prevent a tenant's access to a unit without first going through the court dispossessory process, commonly known as eviction." Dispossessory is Georgia's word for that court case. Cases are usually filed in magistrate court, the handbook notes, and can also be filed in state or superior court.

Step 5 can end a case. The handbook calls the tenant's payment within seven days of service "a complete defense, meaning that if the money owed is paid, the landlord cannot evict the tenant." The tenant "may only use the tender defense with the landlord once in a 12-month period." An owner should expect that a first filing for unpaid rent may end with payment and the tenant staying.

Retaliation

Timing matters after a tenant complains. The handbook lists the tenant actions that are protected: asking for a repair, joining a tenant organization about safety or health, filing a good faith complaint with a government body about a code violation, and enforcing a right under the lease or the law. If the landlord files an eviction, denies the tenant access, reduces services, raises the rent or ends the lease "within three (3) months of the tenant's protected action(s), then the law presumes the landlord was retaliating," unless the landlord shows a lawful reason. A landlord may still file when the tenant is behind on rent. A tenant who wins a retaliation claim "may recover one (1) month's rent plus $500.00, court costs, and possible attorney fees."

Ending a tenancy with no lease, and one disclosure

For a tenancy-at-will, the handbook says "the landlord must give the tenant sixty (60) days' notice telling them to leave," and the tenant may end it with 30 days' notice. A written lease ends according to its own terms.

One disclosure applies before a lease is signed. If a rental property "has flooded at least three (3) times in the past five (5) years and damaged the living space, the landlord must, before entering a lease agreement, notify the potential tenant in writing." Check the flood history when you buy a building. The lot eligibility page covers Atlanta's floodplain rules.

Atlanta's Short-Term Rental License

Stays of 30 days or less fall under a City law. Part 20 of the Atlanta Code, the "City of Atlanta Short Term Rental Ordinance," was adopted as Ord. No. 2021-14 on March 24, 2021. Section 20-1004 says no person may rent all or part of a home as a short-term rental "without first obtaining a short-term rental license."

Sources: Atlanta Code, Secs. 20-1003 to 20-1008 and Zoning Ordinance Sec. 16-29.001(88).

The limit of "their primary residence and one additional dwelling unit" decides what a small owner can do. An owner who lives in one home of a duplex may license that home and the other one. The wording covers two homes for each owner or long-term tenant: the primary residence and one more. The Zoning Ordinance lists short-term rentals as a permitted use in R-4 and R-5, subject to this ordinance, and prohibits use of a building as a party house. The Atlanta ADU page covers the rule for accessory dwelling units.

Decatur has its own limit. In duplexes and walk up flats there, no more than one home per building may be a short-term rental at a time. See the metro page.

What to Confirm, and Where

• A Georgia attorney. The wording of Code Section 44-7-19, your lease form, and whether the broker rule in HB 399 applies to your building. This page is general information.
• The court where the property lies. Filing steps and forms for a dispossessory case. The handbook says cases are usually filed in magistrate court.
• The Department of City Planning. The short-term rental license. The ordinance names it as the department that issues the license.
• The Georgia Department of Community Affairs. The current edition of the Landlord Tenant Handbook. The edition read here is dated August 29, 2024 and says it "may not be up to date on the law."

The handbook also states a limit on what any agency can do: "In Georgia, there is not a government agency that can intervene in a landlord-tenant dispute or force the landlord or tenant to behave a particular way." Disputes that the two sides cannot settle go to court.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the Atlanta multiplex guide overview, rent and landlord rules in Texas and rent and tenant rules in California.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)