‘Safe at Home Act’ aiming to protect Georgia renters

Ƈ But some housing advocates say it could be stronger.

State legislation seeking to guarantee safe living conditions at rental properties seems bound for Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk — but with the bill’s current language, it remains unclear what exactly constitutes habitability.

Georgia’s bipartisan House Bill 404, dubbed the “Safe at Home Act,” would deem that any rental contract is understood to include a provision that the housing unit is “fit for human habitation.”

Georgia is one of the only states in the country without such a standard — but housing advocates worry HB 404 doesn’t go far enough to ensure landlords must maintain units so they’re free of rats, roaches, mold, and other safety issues.

That’s because the proposal doesn’t include any definition of “fit for human habitation” for its promise of safe living conditions.

“HB 404 is really critical to moving the needle as a tool for renter protections,” said Housing Justice League executive director Alison Johnson. “What’s left out of the bill is a concise definition of habitability, and ultimately who is responsible.”

“Conditions of habitability must be spelled out,” she told Atlanta Civic Circle in an email.

Still, the Housing Justice League and other advocates have encouraged lawmakers to pass the legislation, even in its current state, because it sets a long-overdue baseline for tenant protections. HB 404 also aims to make life easier for families looking for housing or trying to stay comfortably and safely housed.

The Safe at Home Act also prohibits landlords from requiring a security deposit for more than two months’ rent, and it would establish a three-day grace period before landlords could begin eviction proceedings if tenants don’t pay rent or the lease has expired.

“I would prefer a strong definition [of habitability] that protects children and families,” Georgia Appleseed Center for Law and Justice’s executive director, Michael Waller, said in an interview. “But HB 404, as written, is important progress that will benefit renting families and their landlords.”

The Atlanta Apartment Association — which represents companies managing over 390,000 apartments— says the legislation should pass as is. “The association was happy to work with stakeholders on HB 404 last year, and we remain unopposed to the bill in its current form,” the organization’s spokesperson, Chelsea Juras, said in an email.

Supporters say HB 404, even in its current form, would go a long way toward preventing children from becoming unhoused — an all-too-frequent problem in Georgia.

“Tens of thousands of Georgia children experience homelessness or unsafe housing that leads to foster care, school suspension or expulsion, and ultimately, the juvenile or criminal justice systems,” Waller wrote in a Feb. 8 op-ed for the Valdosta Daily Times.

Those issues are exacerbated by the state’s frequent practice of placing kids in foster care when their parents experience housing challenges, rather than helping them find or retain their housing, according to a recent ProPublica investigation.

HB 404’s journey through the Georgia legislature mirrors other states’ efforts to boost tenant protections: Legislation in Massachusetts would make rental property inspections a constitutional right, and a bill in Colorado would set timelines for when repairs on rental property must be conducted.

HB 404 passed a House vote last year, and is working its way through the Senate now.