Georgia Lease Agreement: What to Include

A Georgia residential lease needs to reflect this state's actual rules on security deposits, entry notice, late fees, and required disclosures — not a generic template written for a different state. The figures below come from Georgia's residential landlord-tenant statute; where the state sets no fixed number, that's stated plainly rather than glossed over, since "the state doesn't specify" is itself something you need to know.

Security deposit

Security deposit limit: No statewide statutory limit. Georgia does not require interest on held deposits. Return deadline after move-out: 30 Days.

Entry notice, late fees, and rent increases

Entry notice: No statewide statute. Late fees: No statewide fixed cap; should be reasonable and stated in lease; no statewide grace period requirement. Rent increase notice for month-to-month tenancies: 60 landlord notice for tenancy-at-will changes/termination days. (Entry notice citation: No statewide statute.)

Required disclosures

A Georgia lease should include or accompany:

• • Federal lead-based paint
• • move-in damage list for deposits
• • flood disclosure where applicable

Eviction notice for nonpayment

For nonpayment of rent, Georgia: Demand required; no fixed statewide notice period before dispossessory in many cases This is the minimum notice before you can move to the next step in the eviction process — actual court timelines run longer once a case is filed. (Eviction notice citation: O.C.G.A. § 44-7-50 (no mandatory waiting period; 3-business-day cure period for leases from 7/1/2024).)

What actually distinguishes Georgia

Georgia sets no statewide statutory cap on the security deposit amount — the lease itself is what controls how much you can charge, so put the amount and any pet/move-in fees in writing.

There's no statewide statutory notice period for landlord entry in Georgia, which means the lease is the only thing establishing that expectation — silence in the lease leaves it genuinely undefined.

Rent increase notice for month-to-month tenancies in Georgia is 60 landlord notice for tenancy-at-will changes/termination days — different from the 30-day default most other states use, so don't assume the general rule applies here.

Sources and the bottom line

The figures above reflect Georgia's residential landlord-tenant statute as summarized on LeasePilot HQ's Georgia landlord-tenant law page, which lists the specific sources behind each number. Security deposit rules specifically are codified at O.C.G.A. § 44-7-30 et seq (limit set by § 44-7-30.1), with the return deadline set by O.C.G.A. § 44-7-34 (30 days). Primary and cross-reference sources used in compiling this page:

• • https://ipropertymanagement.com/laws/security-deposits
• • https://www.justia.com/real-estate/landlord-tenant/information-for-landlords/right-of-entry/
• • https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/state-landlord-tenant-laws

State landlord-tenant law changes through legislative sessions and court decisions — treat the numbers above as a starting point, verify against Georgia's current statute (linked above) before relying on them for an actual lease, and see LeasePilot HQ's full Georgia landlord-tenant law summary for the complete breakdown, or generate a lease with Georgia-specific clauses built in automatically.