Security Deposit Law
What Georgia landlords must do with security deposits — the cap, interest, return deadline, account rules, and penalties — with citations to the statute itself.
Verified as of June 11, 2026
This page is general information, not legal advice. Statutes change — verify with the cited sources or an attorney.
Deposit cap
Two months' rent maximum, for leases entered into or renewed on or after July 1, 2024.
Interest
No. Georgia law does not require landlords to pay interest on security deposits.
Return deadline
30 days after the landlord obtains possession of the premises.
Georgia's Safe at Home Act (HB 404, 2024) added O.C.G.A. § 44-7-30.1: "No landlord shall demand or receive a security deposit in an amount that exceeds the equivalent of two months' rent." Per Section 6 of the Act, it applies to residential lease agreements entered into or renewed on or after July 1, 2024, so older leases are not subject to the cap until renewal. Because § 44-7-30(3) defines "security deposit" to include damage deposits, advance rent deposits, and pet deposits, the safe reading is that all refundable deposits count toward the two-month limit.
Ga. HB 404 (2024), Section 4 (enacting O.C.G.A. § 44-7-30.1) and Section 6 (applicability) · Ga. HB 404 (2024), signed copy · O.C.G.A. § 44-7-30.1 (2024)
Nothing in Georgia's security deposit article (O.C.G.A. §§ 44-7-30 through 44-7-37, which also contains § 44-7-30.1) requires interest to be paid or credited to the tenant. The article's last section, § 44-7-37, addresses rent liability of military personnel receiving change-of-duty orders and contains no deposit or interest requirement, so the no-interest conclusion holds across the full article.
O.C.G.A. Title 44, Ch. 7, Art. 2 (Security Deposits), §§ 44-7-30 — 44-7-37 (table of contents) · O.C.G.A. § 44-7-37 · O.C.G.A. § 44-7-31 (2024)
O.C.G.A. § 44-7-34(a): "Within 30 days after obtaining possession of the premises as provided in subsection (b) of Code Section 44-7-33, a landlord shall return to the tenant the full security deposit." If actual cause exists to retain any portion, the landlord must instead provide, within that period, a written statement of the exact reasons plus the comprehensive damage list, accompanied by payment of the difference; mailing the statement and payment first-class to the tenant's last known address satisfies the section, and a payment returned undelivered becomes the landlord's property 90 days after mailing if the tenant cannot be located after reasonable effort. Note: the current DCA-hosted Georgia Landlord-Tenant Handbook is consistent with the statute (it says the deposit must be returned "within thirty (30) days"), but older pre-2018 copies of the handbook still in circulation (e.g., a December 2017 revision formerly hosted at consumer.georgia.gov) say "one month" and are outdated on this point — rely on the statute.
O.C.G.A. § 44-7-34(a) (2024) · Georgia Landlord-Tenant Handbook (Ga. Dept. of Community Affairs, current edition)
O.C.G.A. § 44-7-31 requires deposits to be "deposited in an escrow account established only for that purpose in any bank or lending institution subject to regulation by this state or any agency of the United States government," held in trust for the tenant, with the tenant "informed in writing of the location of the escrow account." As an alternative, § 44-7-32 lets the landlord post a surety bond with the clerk of superior court for the total deposits held or $50,000.00, whichever is less. Exception: under § 44-7-36, the escrow/bond and damage-list rules (§§ 44-7-31, 44-7-32, 44-7-33, 44-7-35) do not apply to a natural person who, with spouse and minor children, owns ten or fewer rental units — unless management, including rent collection, is performed by a third party for a fee.
O.C.G.A. § 44-7-31 (2024) · O.C.G.A. § 44-7-32 · O.C.G.A. § 44-7-36 (2024)
Under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-35(c), a landlord who fails to return any part of a deposit owed is "liable to the tenant in the amount of three times the sum improperly withheld plus reasonable attorney's fees," reduced to only the sum erroneously withheld if the landlord proves the withholding was an unintentional, bona fide error despite reasonable error-avoidance procedures. § 44-7-35(b) is independently fatal on timing: failing to provide the lists and written statements within the § 44-7-34 deadlines "shall work a forfeiture of all the landlord's rights to withhold any portion of the security deposit or to bring an action against the tenant for damages to the premises." § 44-7-35(a) lists three further grounds for losing the right to retain the deposit — no escrow/bond, no move-in damage list, and no final damage list — joined in the statute's plain text by "and" (conjunctive); the safe reading for landlords is that any one of these failures risks total forfeiture, and late itemization is independently fatal under § 44-7-35(b).
Atlanta has a codified city security-deposit ordinance: Ordinance 20-O-1423 ("Renter's Choice," adopted October 2020), codified at Atlanta Code of Ordinances ch. 94, art. IX, Sec. 94-152. Verified from the city's official final-action PDF (https://aimewebapp.blob.core.windows.net/finalactions/20o1423.pdf): upon a tenant's request, landlords who own and/or control more than ten rental units and require a security deposit exceeding sixty percent (60%) of the monthly rent must offer to accept either qualifying rental security insurance (from a Georgia-licensed carrier, approved by the landlord, effective on first premium for the full lease term, with monthly premium payments permitted and per-claim coverage at least equal to the required deposit) or payment of the deposit in no fewer than three equal monthly installments due with rent. The landlord must give written pre-lease notice of these alternatives when the required deposit exceeds 60% of monthly rent; the ordinance does not apply to deposits securing a unit more than sixty days before the rental period begins, and it does not limit standard credit and income screening. State law (O.C.G.A. §§ 44-7-30 through 44-7-37) still governs all other deposit obligations in Atlanta and statewide.
O.C.G.A. § 44-7-30.1 (Safe at Home Act, HB 404): "No landlord shall demand or receive a security deposit in an amount that exceeds the equivalent of two months' rent." It applies to residential leases entered into or renewed on or after July 1, 2024.
Ga. HB 404 (2024), Sections 4 and 6 · Ga. HB 404 (2024), signed copy
Deposits must sit in a dedicated escrow account at a regulated bank or lending institution, held in trust for the tenant, with the tenant informed in writing of the account's location (§ 44-7-31) — or the landlord may post a surety bond with the superior court clerk for total deposits held or $50,000.00, whichever is less (§ 44-7-32).
Before the tenant tenders a deposit, the landlord must present "a comprehensive list of any existing damage to the premises" for the tenant's permanent retention; the tenant may inspect to verify it, and both parties sign (or the tenant signs a specific written dissent). § 44-7-33(a).
Within three business days after lease termination and vacation (or surrender and acceptance), the landlord must inspect and compile a comprehensive list of damage charged against the deposit with estimated dollar values; the tenant may inspect the premises and the list within five business days. § 44-7-33(b)(1).
"No security deposit shall be retained to cover ordinary wear and tear which occurred as a result of the use of the premises for the purposes for which the premises were intended," absent negligence, carelessness, accident, or abuse by the tenant or the tenant's household, invitees, or guests. § 44-7-34(a).
A natural person who, with spouse and minor children, owns ten or fewer rental units is exempt from §§ 44-7-31, 44-7-32, 44-7-33, and 44-7-35 (escrow/bond, damage lists, and the remedies section) — unless a third party manages the units (including rent collection) for a fee. The two-month cap (§ 44-7-30.1) and the 30-day return rule (§ 44-7-34) are not in the exemption list and apply to all landlords.
O.C.G.A. § 44-7-36 (2024) · Ga. HB 404 (2024), Section 4 (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-30.1)
Violates O.C.G.A. § 44-7-30.1, which forbids demanding or receiving "a security deposit in an amount that exceeds the equivalent of two months' rent"; § 44-7-30(3) defines security deposit to include damage, advance-rent, and pet deposits, so the safe course is to keep the refundable total at or under two months.
Forfeits all rights to withhold any portion of the deposit and to sue the tenant for damages to the premises (§ 44-7-35(b)), and any amount improperly withheld exposes the landlord to three times that sum plus reasonable attorney's fees (§ 44-7-35(c)).
O.C.G.A. § 44-7-35(b), (c) (2024) · O.C.G.A. § 44-7-34(a) (2024)
Barred by § 44-7-34(a); an improper withholding is recoverable at three times the sum plus attorney's fees under § 44-7-35(c) unless the landlord proves a bona fide, unintentional error.
These are two of the three conditions in § 44-7-35(a) for losing the right to retain any of the deposit (joined by "and" in the plain text, but the safe reading is that any single failure risks total forfeiture), and the final list feeds the § 44-7-34 statement whose lateness is independently fatal under § 44-7-35(b).
The § 44-7-36 exemption is lost the moment "management, including rent collection, is performed by third persons... for a fee," and it never covered § 44-7-30.1 (the two-month cap) or § 44-7-34 (the 30-day return and itemization duty), which bind every landlord.
Two months' rent. O.C.G.A. § 44-7-30.1, added by the Safe at Home Act (HB 404), says no landlord may "demand or receive a security deposit in an amount that exceeds the equivalent of two months' rent." The cap applies to residential leases entered into or renewed on or after July 1, 2024; a pre-existing lease isn't subject to it until renewal.
30 days after obtaining possession of the premises (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-34(a)). If you're keeping any portion, you must send, within the same 30 days, a written statement of the exact reasons plus the comprehensive damage list, together with payment of the rest. Mailing both first-class to the tenant's last known address satisfies the statute.
No. Nothing in Georgia's security deposit article (O.C.G.A. §§ 44-7-30 through 44-7-37, including § 44-7-30.1) requires a landlord to pay interest on a deposit. The article's final section, § 44-7-37, deals only with rent liability of military personnel who receive change-of-duty orders, so it doesn't change that conclusion.
Generally yes. O.C.G.A. § 44-7-31 requires a dedicated escrow account at a regulated bank or lending institution, with the tenant told its location in writing; § 44-7-32 allows a surety bond (total deposits held or $50,000, whichever is less) as an alternative. But under § 44-7-36, a natural person who, with spouse and minor children, owns ten or fewer self-managed rental units is exempt from the escrow/bond and damage-list rules — the exemption disappears if a third party manages the units for a fee.
Missing the deadlines forfeits all rights to withhold any of the deposit and to sue the tenant for damage to the premises (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-35(b)). On top of that, a landlord who fails to return money owed is liable for three times the sum improperly withheld plus reasonable attorney's fees, unless the landlord proves the withholding was an unintentional, bona fide error despite reasonable safeguards (§ 44-7-35(c)).
The safe answer is yes for refundable pet deposits. O.C.G.A. § 44-7-30(3) defines "security deposit" to include "damage deposits, advance rent deposits, and pet deposits," so refundable pet deposits are security deposits subject to § 44-7-30.1's two-month limit. Genuinely nonrefundable fees the parties agreed would not be refunded are excluded from the definition — but they also get none of a deposit's protections and must be clearly structured as nonrefundable.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Statutes change — verify with the cited sources or an attorney.
Statute facts on this page were verified against the cited official sources on June 11, 2026.
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