Cal. Civ. Code § 44-7-2
Parol contract creating landlord and tenant relationship; waiver, assignment, transfer, or avoidance of certain rights, duties, and remedies prohibited; effect of provision for attorney’s fees.
Operative Text
(a) Contracts creating the relationship of landlord and tenant for any time not exceeding one year may be by parol. (b) In any contract, lease, license agreement, or similar agreement, oral or written, for the use or rental of real property as a dwelling place, a landlord or a tenant may not waive, assign, transfer, or otherwise avoid any of the rights, duties, or remedies contained in the following provisions of law: (1) Code Section 44-7-13, relating to the duties of a landlord as to repairs and improvements; (2) Code Section 44-7-14, relating to the liability of a landlord for failure to repair; (3) Ordinances adopted pursuant to Code Section 36-61-11; (4) Article 3 of this chapter, relating to proceedings against tenants holding over; (5) Article 4 of this chapter, relating to distress warrants; (6) Article 2 of this chapter, relating to security deposits; and (7) Any applicable provision of Chapter 11 of Title 9 which has not been superseded by this chapter. (c) A provision for the payment by the tenant of the attorney’s fees of the landlord upon the breach of a rental agreement by the tenant, which provision is contained in a contract, lease, license agreement, or similar agreement, oral or written, for the use or rental of real property as a dwelling place shall be void unless the provision also provides for the payment by the landlord of the attorney’s fees of the tenant upon the breach of the rental agreement by the landlord.
Under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-2, Georgia law establishes several baseline rules for residential rental relationships. First, a landlord-tenant relationship for up to one year can be created through an oral (parol) agreement. Second, neither party can contractually waive, transfer, or eliminate a defined set of statutory rights and duties — including those governing repairs, security deposits, holdover proceedings, and distress warrants — regardless of what a lease says. Third, any lease clause requiring the tenant to pay the landlord's attorney's fees upon breach is void unless the same clause equally requires the landlord to pay the tenant's attorney's fees if the landlord breaches.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Property owners and managers operating under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-2 should understand that certain statutory protections — covering repairs, security deposits, holdover procedures, and related matters — cannot be contracted away, no matter how a lease is drafted. A compliant operator reviews lease language to ensure no clause purports to strip tenants of these protected rights or duties. Additionally, any attorney's fees provision in a residential lease must be mutual: if the lease requires tenants to cover the landlord's legal costs upon tenant breach, it must equally obligate the landlord to cover the tenant's legal costs upon landlord breach, or the clause will be unenforceable under § 44-7-2(c).
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Georgia tenants benefit from O.C.G.A. § 44-7-2's guarantee that certain statutory rights — such as the landlord's duty to make repairs, security deposit protections, and procedural safeguards — cannot be signed away in a lease, regardless of what the lease document says. If a lease contains a clause that attempts to waive these protections, that clause is generally unenforceable, and tenants may be able to raise this as a defense in a legal proceeding. Tenants who encounter a one-sided attorney's fees clause — one that requires them to pay the landlord's legal costs without a reciprocal obligation on the landlord — may wish to consult a tenant-rights organization or legal aid provider familiar with § 44-7-2(c) to understand their options.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated October 28, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
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