Georgia Sublease Agreement: Rules and What to Put in Writing

A sublease is a second rental agreement stacked on top of the first one. Your lease with the landlord stays alive, and you separately rent the unit, or one bedroom in it, to somebody else. Georgia law does not hand tenants that power by default. Under O.C.G.A. section 44-7-1, a residential tenant holds a usufruct, meaning a right to possess and use the property rather than an estate in it, and the statute says that right may not be conveyed except by the landlord's consent.

Sublease, assignment, and adding a roommate are three different moves

A sublease keeps you in the middle. You still owe the landlord, your subtenant owes you, and the landlord has no contract with your subtenant. An assignment is different: you hand your remaining term to someone who then deals with the landlord directly, and you usually need the landlord to release you in writing or you stay on the hook anyway. Adding a roommate to the existing lease is a third path, where the landlord signs an amended or new lease and the new person becomes a co-tenant with the same obligations you carry. In Georgia, the usufruct rule reaches all three, so all three normally need the landlord's blessing.

Landlord consent: what the lease says, and what state law adds

Start with your lease. Most Georgia residential leases handle subletting in one of three ways: a flat prohibition, a requirement of prior written consent, or consent that cannot be unreasonably withheld. A flat prohibition means subleasing anyway is a breach that can support termination, no matter how good your subtenant looks on paper. If the lease says nothing at all, section 44-7-1 still limits conveying the usufruct without consent, so silence is not permission. Ask in writing, and ask for something specific: the subtenant's full name, the sublease term, the rent, confirmation that you remain the tenant of record, and a signature from someone with authority to bind the owner. An email approval from a leasing agent who lacks authority is thin protection if the owner later objects.

You stay liable, and that is the whole point of the structure

A sublease does not move your obligations onto anyone else. If your subtenant pays late, you owe the landlord on time. If your subtenant stops paying in month four, the landlord pursues you, not the person living there. If the subtenant burns through the carpet, your security deposit absorbs it and your rental history carries it. Georgia's deposit remedies run between landlord and tenant, so the landlord's damage claim lands on the tenant named in the master lease. Price the sublease accordingly, collect a deposit of your own, and treat the arrangement as a business you are running rather than a favor you are doing.

What a Georgia sublease has to put in writing

Name the sublessor, the sublessee, and every occupant. Describe exactly what is rented, whether that is the entire unit or one identified bedroom with shared use of the kitchen, bathrooms, and living areas. Set start and end dates that end on or before your master lease ends, because you cannot grant more time than you hold. State the rent, the due date, and the payment method. Split the utilities in writing. Attach a copy of the master lease and state that the sublessee is bound by its terms, then attach the landlord's written consent. Cover entry, guests, pets, smoking, parking, and what happens if the master lease terminates early. If the sublease starts partway through a month, set the first payment with our prorated rent calculator and write the number in rather than leaving it to be worked out later.

Handling the security deposit between you and your subtenant

Georgia's deposit statutes, O.C.G.A. sections 44-7-30 through 44-7-37, speak in terms of landlord and tenant, and a sublessor collecting money from a sublessee is functioning as a landlord. The safest approach is to follow the same process the statutes require of any owner. Deposits are capped at the equivalent of two months' rent for leases entered into or renewed on or after July 1, 2024. Before the deposit is tendered, present a written list of existing damage that the sublessee may inspect and sign, or dissent from in writing. Inspect within three business days after the sublease ends and the unit is vacated, prepare a written damage list with estimated dollar values, and give the sublessee a chance to inspect it within five business days. Return the deposit within 30 days of getting possession back, along with a written statement giving the exact reasons for anything you keep. Missing those deadlines forfeits the right to withhold, and improperly withholding exposes you to three times the amount plus attorney fees. Section 44-7-36 exempts a natural person who, with a spouse and minor children, owns ten or fewer rental units from parts of that article unless a third party manages for a fee, so a single sublease may sit outside some of it, but following the process anyway is cheap insurance. Our security deposit limit checker shows the current Georgia limit alongside other states.

Eviction exposure runs in two directions

Georgia removes an occupant through a dispossessory proceeding filed in magistrate, state, or superior court. Two separate risks come with a sublease. First, if your sublessee will not leave or will not pay, you are the one who has to demand possession and file, because the agreement is yours. For nonpayment, Georgia requires a notice to vacate or pay all past due rent, late fees, utilities, and other charges within three business days before filing, and that notice has to be posted in a sealed envelope conspicuously on the door plus delivered by any additional method the rental agreement specifies. Second, if you fall behind with the landlord, the landlord's case can clear out both of you, and your sublessee's payments to you are no defense against the owner. That is why routing rent through yourself, and actually paying the landlord, matters more than any clause in the document.

Practical steps before you sign anything

Screen the sublessee the way a landlord would. Verify income and check references, and be aware that Georgia bars charging a residential application fee only in specific circumstances, so read your lease and any local rule before collecting anything up front. Do a joint walkthrough with dated photos of every room, appliance, and existing scratch. Collect rent by a traceable method rather than cash. Put the master lease end date in the sublease and set a calendar reminder a month ahead. Confirm renters insurance for both of you, since your policy may not cover a person who is not on it. Keep the signed sublease, the landlord's consent, the damage lists, and the photos in one place, because the value of those documents shows up only if something goes wrong.

Sources

• Georgia Landlord Tenant Handbook, State of Georgia
• Georgia Attorney General Consumer Protection Division, Georgia Landlord-Tenant Handbook