Quick Reference: Georgia Dispossessory Process at a Glance Step Requirement Statute Grounds Nonpayment, holdover, sufferance, lease violation Section 44-7-50 Pre-filing notice (nonpayment, post-July 1, 2024 leases) Written notice; tenant has 3 business days to pay or vacate Section 44-7-50(c) Demand for possession Required before filing; written is strongly recommended Section 44-7-50 Filing Dispossessory affidavit filed under oath with magistrate court Section 44-7-50 Summons service Personal service by sheriff, deputy, or constable Section 44-7-51(a) Tenant's answer deadline 7 days from actual service date Section 44-7-51(b) Default if no answer Writ of possession issued instanter on landlord's appearance Section 44-7-53(a) Tender defence (nonpayment) Tenant may tender all rent owed plus filing costs within 7 days of service; once per 12 months Section 44-7-52 Rent into court registry Required if case not resolved within 2 weeks of service Section 44-7-54 Writ of possession after ...

The New York eviction process is often misunderstood by out-of-state operators who enter the market for the first time and make the same mistake. They treat it as a longer version of what they already know. It is not. New York's eviction framework is governed by the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law, operates through a specialized court system in New York City that has no equivalent anywhere else in the country, and was significantly restructured by the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 and then again by the Good Cause Eviction Law in April 2024. The cumulative effect is an eviction process that is procedurally demanding, strategically complex, and unforgiving of shortcuts at any stage. The bifurcation between New York City and upstate compounds the difficulty. Both operate under the same state statute, but the practical experience of filing and litigating an eviction in Manhattan Housing Court is different enough from filing in an upstate city court that ...

North Carolina landlord-tenant law operates from a single unified statute, Chapter 42 of the North Carolina General Statutes. Most of what property managers need to know about security deposits lives in Article 6 of that chapter, the Tenant Security Deposit Act, which runs from G.S. 42-50 through G.S. 42-56. The Tenant Security Deposit Act is shorter and less technically demanding than Massachusetts's Section 15B. North Carolina does not require a separate interest-bearing escrow account in the tenant's name. It does not impose annual interest payment obligations. It does not require a sworn damage statement. But what it does require, it requires precisely and the consequences for non-compliance include forfeiture of the right to retain any portion of the deposit and, for willful violations, treble damages and attorney's fees. Property managers entering North Carolina from markets with more complex security deposit regimes sometimes underestimate this statute because it appears ...

Quick Reference: Chicago Fair Eviction Notice Ordinance at a Glance Tenancy Length Required Notice to Terminate or Non-Renew Required Notice for Rent Increase Less than 6 months 30 days 30 days 6 months to 3 years (inclusive) 60 days 60 days More than 3 years 120 days 120 days Provision Rule Applies to Broadly applies to residential rental units across the City of Chicago, including many properties not otherwise covered under the RLTO Owner-occupied buildings (6 units or fewer) Notice tiers apply; right to cure does NOT apply (while notice tiers still apply) Form of agreement Written leases, month-to-month, and oral agreements When extended notice tiers do not apply When a landlord is terminating based on specific tenant breaches; standard RLTO eviction notice provisions then govern Penalty for insufficient notice - Tier 1 (less than 6 months) Tenant may remain up to 60 days from date notice is actually given Penalty for insufficient notice - Tier 2 (6 months to 3 years inclusive) ...

Quick Reference: Florida Security Deposit Rules at a Glance Requirement Rule Security deposit cap No statutory maximum in Florida Holding - Option A Separate non-interest-bearing account at Florida financial institution Holding - Option B Separate interest-bearing account - tenant receives 75% of annualized rate or 5% simple interest (landlord's election) Holding - Option C Surety bond with circuit court clerk - $50,000 per county cap; 5% simple interest due to tenant Multi-county bond alternative Surety bond with Secretary of State - $250,000 cap Disclosure notice obligation Within 30 days of receiving deposit (applies to 5+ unit landlords) Return - no claim Within 15 days of lease termination Return - with claim Written notice by certified mail, or by email only if both parties have signed a written electronic delivery addendum under Section 83.505, within 30 days of lease termination Tenant's right to object 15 days from receipt of the claim notice Remaining balance after claim ...

Most property managers who enter Massachusetts from other states understand that the security deposit is heavily regulated. Fewer understand that the last month's rent carries its own separate set of obligations under the same statute, obligations that are just as specific, just as enforceable, and just as capable of triggering treble damages when violated. Unlike the security deposit, Massachusetts last month's rent follows a different compliance framework under Section 15B. It is not simply prepaid rent that sits in a general account until the tenant's final month. Under MGL Chapter 186, Section 15B, it is a regulated prepayment with a mandatory receipt, an annual interest obligation, and a transfer requirement that survives property sales. Property managers who treat it as an administrative convenience rather than a statutory instrument accumulate liability quietly, tenancy by tenancy, until it surfaces at the worst possible moment. Under MGL Chapter 186, Section 15B, Massachusetts ...

Before April 2021, a Washington landlord could end a month-to-month tenancy for any reason or no reason at all, provided proper notice was given. That framework ended with the passage of Senate Bill 5160, signed into law on April 22, 2021. Under RCW 59.18.650, Washington landlords may no longer evict a tenant, refuse to continue a tenancy, or end a periodic tenancy unless the termination falls within one of the specific causes enumerated in the statute. This is not a procedural change. It is a structural one. The entire framework governing how and when a tenancy can end in Washington shifted. A landlord who terminates a tenancy without a qualifying cause, or who relies on a valid cause but serves a procedurally defective notice, faces a wrongful eviction claim. The remedy is the greater of the tenant's actual economic and noneconomic damages or three times the monthly rent, plus attorney's fees and court costs. Property managers entering Washington from states without just cause ...

Quick Reference: Arizona ARLTA at a Glance Requirement Rule Security deposit maximum 1.5 times monthly rent (Section 33-1321(A)) Security deposit - return deadline 14 business days after termination, possession, and tenant demand (Section 33-1321(D)) Security deposit - penalty for non-compliance Wrongfully withheld amount plus damages equal to 2x that amount (Section 33-1321(E)) Move-in form Required at move-in documenting existing damage (Section 33-1321(C)) Landlord entry notice Minimum 2 days (48 hours) for non-emergency entry (Section 33-1343) Non-payment eviction notice 5 calendar days to pay or vacate (Section 33-1368(B)) General lease violation notice 10 calendar days to cure or vacate (Section 33-1368(A)) Health and safety violation notice 5 calendar days to cure or vacate (Section 33-1368(A)) Immediate termination Permitted for material and irreparable breaches (Section 33-1368(A)) Month-to-month termination notice 30 days by either party (Section 33-1375) Rent control ...

Quick Reference: Georgia Landlord-Tenant Law at a Glance Requirement Rule Security deposit cap (leases on/after July 1, 2024) Maximum 2 months' rent (Section 44-7-30.1) Security deposit - return deadline Within 30 days of lease termination (Section 44-7-34) Security deposit - escrow requirement Applies when landlord owns 10+ units OR uses third-party management (Section 44-7-36) Security deposit - penalty for wrongful withholding Three times the amount improperly withheld plus attorney's fees (Section 44-7-35(c)) Move-in checklist and formal inspection Required for landlords with 10+ units or third-party management Non-payment notice (leases on/after July 1, 2024) 3 business days to pay or vacate (Section 44-7-50(c)) Tenancy at will - landlord termination notice 60 days Tenancy at will - tenant termination notice 30 days Warranty of habitability (leases on/after July 1, 2024) Premises must be fit for human habitation (Section 44-7-13(b)) Utility shutoff during eviction proceedings ...

Quick Reference: Chicago RLTO Compliance at a Glance Requirement Rule RLTO summary - every written lease and renewal Must be attached before or at the time the lease is offered Penalty for missing RLTO summary $100 + tenant may terminate lease with written notice Security deposit - holding requirement Separate federally insured interest-bearing account in Illinois Security deposit - interest obligation Annually on deposits held more than 6 months; rate set by City Comptroller Security deposit - return after move-out Within 45 days; itemised damage statement within 30 days Penalty for security deposit non-compliance 2x deposit amount plus interest and attorney's fees Landlord entry notice Minimum 2 days prior notice (not 24 hours) Late fee cap $10 for first $500 of monthly rent; 5% on rent above $500 Non-renewal/rent increase notice (under 6 months tenancy) 30 days prior to termination date Non-renewal/rent increase notice (6 months to 3 years) 60 days prior to termination date ...