A gesture of support for capping rent hikes failed to make it through the Fulton County Commission on Wednesday.
The resolution from District 4 Commissioner Natalie Hall urged passage of Senate Bill 125, sponsored by state Sen. Donzella James, D-Atlanta. That bill would repeal Georgia’s ban on letting cities and counties regulate how fast rents can increase.
But Commission Chair Robb Pitts noted that the Senate bill was not among those sent on to the state House on Crossover Day, Feb. 28.
“So it’s dead for the year,” he said.
James herself came to endorse the resolution during the commission’s public comment period, insisting that her bill is not dead. A previous version stalled in the Senate in 2022.
“It is moving in the legislature. It did pass the Senate, and it’s on the rules calendar to go before the House,” she said.
James said residential renters are seeing their rents double or triple when lease renewal time comes around. Landlords are gouging those who can least afford it, she said.
“It’s a bill that I saw a need for when I talked to students at our colleges, as well as veterans … and of course our seniors,” James said.
Hall’s resolution, held at the commission’s Feb. 7 meeting, came back for discussion and a vote Wednesday.
She said the resolution is a way to show support for affordable housing, and “packed” eviction court proceedings show it’s needed.
But other commissioners objected to lack of an exemption for small-time landlords and said a limit on rent increases could discourage new construction.
District 6 Commission Khadijah Abdur-Rahman said she supports the idea, but “we just playing” if no mention is made of a few big companies monopolizing rental ownership.
Hall’s resolution failed by a 3-2 vote.
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