Understanding tenancy laws is a responsibility that all rental property owners and landlords must take seriously. There are a number of complex Georgia and federal laws that you need to be aware of.
Fair Housing Act
First, you need to become familiar with the federal Fair Housing Act. There are a lot of videos out there that can educate you on fair housing, so pay attention and educate yourself. Make sure you don’t discriminate when you’re renting out your property. There are many opportunities for mistakes when it comes to fair housing, so make sure you’re familiar with those laws.
Security Deposits
You’ll find there are a lot of laws around security deposits. For example, you cannot accept the security deposit until you have a signed move-in inspection. So do that in the proper order. There are also laws about how quickly you need to return your tenant’s security deposit. In Georgia, you have 30 days from the time of move out to return the balance of the deposit and provide a reconciliation of what was withheld and what may still be owed.
Quiet Enjoyment
We get a lot of questions about the meaning of quiet enjoyment. As a landlord, you have to respect quiet enjoyment for your tenant. Practically, that means you can’t show up and knock on the door and go in just because you own the property. They have a right to quiet enjoyment, so you have to give notice to your tenants before you enter the house. Obviously if it’s an emergency, that’s a different situation and you can go in to make emergency repairs.
Eviction Laws
Finally, the eviction process comes with its own detailed laws. Removing a tenant from the property can be complex. One A Few Things You Need to Know about Georgia and Federal Landlord Tenancy Lawspoint that’s very important for you to know is that at any point in time, if you accept payment, you need to cancel the eviction. You have to start all over if you accept even a dollar from a tenant that you are in the process of evicting.
These are some of the things you need to be familiar with when you’re dealing with state and federal tenancy laws. If you have any questions, please contact us at DKRentals.net.
