Does A Tenant Have Any Rights When There Is Not A Written Lease?

A tenant who occupies rental property with the landlord`s consent and makes rent payments without a written lease is called a tenant­at­will. Georgia landlord­tenant law, including eviction laws and security deposits laws, still applies. A tenant­at­will has the right to occupy and use the rented premises subject to any restrictions upon which the landlord and the tenant have agreed. Because there is not a written lease, Georgia law regulates the type of notice which a tenant­at­will and the landlord of the tenant­at­will must give to terminate or change the original rental agreement. A tenant must give thirty (30) days notice to the landlord to terminate or change the original agreement. A landlord who has a tenant­at­will must give sixty (60) days notice to the tenant before seeking to terminate the agreement or change any term of the original agreement. This means the landlord must give a tenant­at­will sixty (60) days notice before imposing a rent increase. To protect your legal rights any and all notices should be in writing. When a tenant­at­will fails to pay rent the landlord is not required to give the sixty days notice before terminating the tenancy. If the tenant­at­will fails to pay rent, the landlord can demand possession and immediately file a dispossessory warrant seeking possession in court.