Weekly Links: Georgia becomes the 42nd state to ban retaliatory evictions while NOAA reclassified last October’s Hurricane Michael to make it only the 4th category 5 hurricane to hit the U.S.
Georgia Tenants Can Now Safely Report Illegal Housing
Georgia Legislature Again Tries to Claim Land in Tennessee
Now that the first part of the 2019-2020 Georgia Legislative Session has ended, here’s a rundown of a few things that did and did not pass.
Tax Uber to Pay for Transit? In Georgia?
Weekly Links: Georgia lawmakers are getting serious about taxing Uber and Lyft to pay for transit. Also, when more women are included in the map-making process, maps end up better reflecting communities. And, Oregon imposes the first state-wide cap on rent increases.
Tenants Suffer Yet Another Loss at the Georgia Court of Appeals
The Georgia Court of Appeals recently ruled that landlords can severely limit legal actions against them by tenants. Even if you’re not a tenant, the decision is important because it’s another example of how consumers are routinely forced to forgo their access to the judicial system in order to participate in everyday transactions. Tenants did, though, score a major victory in the Georgia Legislature.
You Don’t Own That Parking Spot in Front of Your House
Throwing eggs and leaving angry notes are just a couple ways people have shown their dissatisfaction with someone parking in front of their house on a public street. These actions come despite the angry note leaver or egg thrower having no legal right to the parking spot. While parking restrictions may be necessary in some situations, burdensome auto abandonment laws and inappropriate restrictions could raise rents and create more trouble.
The Burden on Landlords to Protect Tenants Has Been Diminished
Georgia law has long allowed juries to find a landlord liable if they fail to take necessary steps to keep a tenant safe. It’s a basic legal protection given to tenants, particularly those in higher-crime areas. The Georgia Court of Appeals, though, is okay scrapping the whole jury thing if the judge thinks the tenant should have known not to get harmed. So no more juries, even if the landlord’s botched security job may have contributed to the tenant’s harm.
