ATLANTA — An 11Alive viewer hit with a dramatic increase in rent wondered if Georgia law allows landlords the freedom to increase rent as much as they want.
The viewer, who lives in an apartment that’s part of an affordable housing program, was notified that were rent was increasing from $1,170 to $1,291 a month. That’s an increase of more than 10%.
Question
Is it legal in Georgia for landlords to increase rent as much as they want?
Sources
- Georgia law
- The Georgia Department of Community Affairs
- Dr. Taylor Shelton with Georgia State University’s Urban Studies Institute
Answer
Yes, landlords in Georgia are generally free to increase your rent 10% or more when you sign a new lease.
What we found
Georgia law is pretty clear. It says that local governments here can not regulate the amount of rent charged by a landlord.
“There is no cap on the amount of rent increases that a landlord can charge,” said Dr. Shelton. “You might be able to bargain with your landlord on an individual basis and attempt to perhaps have them reason with you but in reality, there are no legal limits on how much they could increase.”
Dr. Shelton added that the only restriction is when a landlord can increase your rent. Typically, they can’t do it in the middle of a lease.
While the Georgia legislature has considered changing the law to limit rent increases, Shelton noted "they unfortunately didn’t get much traction and it’s an uphill battle to do that in a state that’s so property rights friendly.”
The Department of Community Affairs said there are some limits when it comes to federally subsidized housing. There are maximum amounts a landlord can charge that can be based on a renter’s income or the median income of a county.
As long as they don’t exceed the maximum, a landlord can increase the rent as much as they want from lease to lease.