ATLANTA — Two Georgia state senators, one Republican and one Democrat, filed a bill to require more transparency and fairness for rent pricing in the state.
Senate Bill 251 would modify the Fair Business Practices Act of 1975 to block landlords from not disclosing rental price totals for any residential property and would ban them from charging deceptive and/or excessive fees.
Additionally, the bill defines what would legally be considered a deceptive fee.
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SB 251 says that deceptive fees are:
- Any cost to rent a property that is reasonably avoidable or excessive
- A fee charged for a service not actually used or received
- Fees related to services that landlords are already legally required to provide according to law or rental agreement
- Fees that restrict competition, including failure to use a preferred vendor or service provider
- Fees not expressly provided for in the rental agreement
- Fees that are designated as deceptive by the Attorney General
For excessive, the bill defines such fees as any fee that is greater than the actual cost of a good or service.
The bill is sponsored by Sens. Russ Goodman and Kim Jackson and is set for discussion in Friday’s Economic Development and Tourism committee.
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