Georgia lawmakers on Tuesday approved a bill that will mandate modest standards for people living in neglected rental homes.
House Bill 404 passed the Georgia House 168-1 after the measure stalled in the Senate last year. The Senate approved the measure last week.
The bill states rental properties should be “fit for human habitation” without making clear what habitable or uninhabitable means, and what penalties landlords would face for non-compliance.
Georgia has some of the weakest tenant protections in the country, according to some affordable housing advocates.
State Rep. Kasey Carpenter, a Republican from Dalton, introduced HB 404 in response to “Dangerous Dwellings,” an 18-month investigation by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that showed tens of thousands of metro area renters living in perilous conditions while apartment owners flipped the properties for millions more than they purchased them.
Landlords ignored complaints about roaches, mold, rats, raw sewage spills and persistent violent crime, sometimes retaliating against tenants for speaking out, renters said. An AJC analysis based on crime reports, code complaints and other public records identified more than 270 persistently dangerous complexes in Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties.
“We always try to say Georgia is the best place to work and play but sometimes, for some folks, it’s not the best place to live,” Carpenter said. “So this legislation will move the ball forward so we can protect Georgia residents.”
The bill’s passage represents a hard-won victory for lawmakers, policymakers and housing advocates, some of whom highlighted the measure’s shortcomings but argued it was an important step in the right direction.
The law would create a habitability standard, a three-day grace period so tenants can catch up with their rent before landlords file for eviction, and place limits on security deposits to the equivalent of two months’ rent.
The bill now goes to Gov. Brian Kemp for his approval. If signed, the law would apply to residential lease agreements beginning July 1.
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