Self Storage Rent Control in Georgia

February 23, 2024

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image depicting a self storage rent increase exchange
5 min

UPDATE: This has been defeated. Check out this article for some 2024 victories against rent control!

Once again, a bill to control rent is floating around the halls of a state government.

This time? It’s Georgia House Bill 811.

With the crazy rate management practices that REITs have employed over the last year, it’s no surprise that this topic is starting to gain more traction. There are industry veterans who have warned about it.

The good news? Each previous attempt has been defeated thanks to the efforts of groups like the Self Storage Association. Also, the rent control measures in this bill are fairly reasonable for a good customer experience.

But rent control isn't the only thing in this bill.

Let’s take a look at this latest attempt in Georgia and go over what the bill includes. Hint: It’s not just rent control.


The Quick Version

Self Storage Rent Control in Georgia-1

Before we dive into all the dirty details, here’s the need-to-know:

  • A bill related to rent control has been introduced by representatives in Georgia
  • The bill would limit a storage facility’s ability to increase rates
  • The bill also includes regulations on rental agreements, operations, and maintenance

Rent control may be what is bringing scrutiny to the industry, but rest assured that rates aren’t the only thing that scrutiny will land on.

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Quick Disclaimer: We aren’t lawyers, lawmakers, or law experts by any means. If you’re curious about how this bill would really impact your facility, make sure to seek counsel from a legal expert. You might try reaching out to your local state storage association—in this case, the Georgia SSA.

The Bill Breakdown: Rent Control Measures

Now, the details. Let’s cover the bill’s rent control measures.

What is rent control? To put it simply, rent control means that a governing body—a state government, in this case—would step in to regulate rates in the storage industry.

When we talk about rent control, this is what we mean.

To summarize, Georgia H. B. 811 includes rent control provisions that make it illegal to:

  • Increase the monthly rate for a unit by more than 50% in a calendar year
  • Increase the monthly rate for a unit more frequently than twice per calendar year
  • Advertise rates for units that the facility doesn’t intend to honor for more than 6 months
  • Advertise a monthly rate for a unit but not supply enough of that unit to meet demand
  • Restrict the recoverable value of property in a unit to less than what you advertise can be stored

Here’s the full wording from the current version of the bill as of 2/20/2024:

 

That’s a lot. But let's be honest, this is already how you should be treating your customers to have a better customer experience.

The really important stuff is what doesn’t fall under rent control.

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The Bill Breakdown: Other Provisions

You may have looked over the rent control provisions and thought, “This won’t affect me at all.”

That’s awesome!

Time to strap in, though, because that isn’t all the bill covers. The rest of it will definitely impact your self storage business in Georgia.

We’re not going to dig into the details of each item, or else this blog post will quickly become a textbook, but here’s a high-level look:

  • Storage operators must provide certain information to tenants. Construction date, dates and summaries of any past damage and repair, roof installation date, and notices of criminal activity and pest control within the last year, among others.
  • Pest control will be required. And if your pest control fails? You need to post notice of the infestation at your facility and notify ALL tenants by email within 24 hours.
  • You’ll need to create and maintain a complaint system. And you will need to keep each complaint filed for up to five years.
  • New requirements for rental agreements. Monthly rate, price per square foot, transparent fees, access instructions, and more. It’s not huge, but it’s there.
  • No more requiring insurance. That’s right. Georgia self storage facilities would no longer be allowed to require insurance under GA H. B. 811. It also adds additional responsibilities if you DO offer insurance.

Not adhering to these provisions constitutes “a breach of the rental agreement.”


The aggressive rate management practices of certain Wall Street-traded players in the industry are bringing this increased scrutiny, but that doesn’t mean they’re the only ones who will be impacted.

Just like we’ve seen in Georgia H. B. 811, every self storage operator is potentially at risk of their business being affected because of the attention, regardless of their rate management practices.

If you'd like to read the bill yourself, click this link and then click the "Current Version" button at the top of the page.


Here are some of my other favorite posts to check out!

At StoragePug, we build self storage websites that make it easy for new customers to find you and easy for them to rent from you.

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