Georgia Retaliation Law: What Counts & the Presumption Window (2026)

What counts as retaliation, and the window where the law presumes it

At a glance

Who this covers — and who it does not

This page covers landlord retaliation in Georgia — what a landlord may not do after you exercise a protected right.

It does not cover commercial leases, or conduct outside the protected window described below.

What the law prohibits

O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24 — 住宅租客就 life/health/safety/habitability 关切采取受保护行为后,房东在 3 个月内报复的,构成 prima-facie 报复案。

2019 Ga. Laws 311, eff. 7/1/2019 新增。报复既是 dispossessory 之诉的抗辩(defense),也是反诉(counterclaim)依据。

O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24 ↗

The protection window

Georgia does not set a statutory presumption window. Whether an action counts as retaliation depends on the facts rather than a fixed clock.

44-7-24(c):房东在租客采取受保护行为后「3 个月内」实施禁止行为(提起 dispossessory、剥夺使用、减服务、涨租/终止租约、实质干涉租客权利)的,构成 prima-facie 报复——由房东举证合法事由反驳(44-7-24(d)/(f))。3 个月非固定 90 天,且系「3 个月内」的窗口而非硬性推定期间。

O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24(c) ↗

Protected activities

善意行使或尝试行使租约或法律赋予的权利/救济。

O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24(b)(1) ↗

向房东发出修复通知或行使本章救济。

O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24(b)(2) ↗

就建筑/住房法规违规或公共事业问题向政府机关投诉。

O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24(b)(3) ↗

建立、尝试建立或参与针对 habitability 问题的租客组织。

O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24(b)(4) ↗

What a landlord may not do

提起 dispossessory 之诉(44-7-24(d)(2) 所列事由除外)。

O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24(c)(1) ↗

剥夺租客对房屋的使用(法律授权事由除外)。

O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24(c)(2) ↗

减少服务、涨租、终止租约/租赁协议。

O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24(c)(3)-(4) ↗

实质干涉租客在租约/租赁协议下的权利。

O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24(c)(5) ↗

Burden of proof

租客先证 prima-facie 案(受保护行为 + 3 个月内报复行为);此后房东可依 44-7-24(d)/(f) 反驳——如欠租、故意损坏、租约违规、holdover,或 12 个月内经法定项目/检查员认证符合建筑住房法规。

O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24(d), (f) ↗

Remedies

报复构成 dispossessory 之诉的抗辩(dismiss),并可追偿:1 个月租金 + $500 民事罚金、诉讼费;房东行为 willful/wanton/malicious 时另加合理律师费;以及扣减租客欠付租金后的 declaratory relief。

O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24(e) ↗

Exemptions and limits

房东在 44-7-24(d) 所列情形下不构成报复:如 escalator 条款涨租、整体物业 pattern 涨租、联邦/州项目涨租;或因欠租、故意损坏、威胁安全、租约重大违规、holdover 而提起 dispossessory 或终止租约。

O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24(d) ↗

Sources and how to verify them

Every figure on this page comes from the official text or a state court opinion, not from a summary. The table below lists each provision used and the date it was last checked.

StatuteLast verifiedSource
O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24 2026-10-16 official text ↗
O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24(c) 2026-10-16 official text ↗
O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24(b)(1) 2026-10-16 official text ↗
O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24(b)(2) 2026-10-16 official text ↗
O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24(b)(3) 2026-10-16 official text ↗
O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24(b)(4) 2026-10-16 official text ↗
O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24(c)(1) 2026-10-16 official text ↗
O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24(c)(2) 2026-10-16 official text ↗
O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24(c)(3)-(4) 2026-10-16 official text ↗
O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24(c)(5) 2026-10-16 official text ↗
O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24(d), (f) 2026-10-16 official text ↗
O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24(e) 2026-10-16 official text ↗
O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24(d) 2026-10-16 official text ↗

Where the official text and a secondary summary disagree, this page follows the official text and says so. Where a provision admits of more than one reading, that is flagged rather than smoothed over.

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More Georgia guides

Georgia Security Deposit Return · Georgia Security Deposit Rules · Georgia Eviction Process · Georgia Rent Increase Rules · Georgia Repairs & Habitability

→ All Georgia tenant rights topics

Common questions

What counts as landlord retaliation in Georgia?

O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24 — 住宅租客就 life/health/safety/habitability 关切采取受保护行为后,房东在 3 个月内报复的,构成 prima-facie 报复案。

How long is the retaliation presumption window in Georgia?

The state does not set a statutory presumption window. 44-7-24(c):房东在租客采取受保护行为后「3 个月内」实施禁止行为(提起 dispossessory、剥夺使用、减服务、涨租/终止租约、实质干涉租客权利)的,构成 prima-facie 报复——由房东举证合法事由反驳(44-7-24(d)/(f))。3 个月非固定 90 天,且系「3 个月内」的窗口而非硬性推定期间。