Georgia Senate Minority Whip Kim Jackson (D-Stone Mountain) recently introduced a bipartisan bill, Senate Bill 414, to add further protections for renters against landlords who might seek to hide important details of a rental agreement. Georgia Senate Minority Whip Kim Jackson (D-Stone Mountain) . Photo submitted by Jackson’s office The bill, which is co-sponsored by Republican State Senator Russ Goodman, can be seen as an amendment to the Fair Business Practices Act of 1975, which protects renters of residential properties in Georgia. SB 411 will prohibit landlords from concealing the full rental price from tenants. Furthermore, the bill will prevent landlords from charging fees that were not disclosed at the time the rental agreement was signed. Jackson told The Atlanta Voice that the bill is important because rental fair practices aren’t always taking place in a city and metro area growing faster than any other in the country. “It’s important to me because I am watching people get fleeced by their landlords,” Jackson said. “This bill is about people, it’s about affordability.”  Jackson said she not only hears rental nightmare stories from her constituents, but she has even heard a similar tale from her sister.  “It’s a bipartisan bill, so it should be supported,” Jackson said. “I’m hopeful.”  The bill summary is as follows:  A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Part 2 of Article 15 of Chapter 1 of Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the “Fair Business Practices Act of 1975,” so as to encourage transparency and fairness with respect to rent pricing for residential properties; to prohibit landlords from failing to disclose the total rental price of any residential property and charging hidden fees for any residential property; to provide for definitions; to provide for statutory construction; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date and applicability; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. More than 32 percent of metro Atlantans rent, according to data from bestneighborhood.org. According to data from apartments.com, the average rent for an apartment in metro Atlanta is $1,600 per month. The post Senate Bill 414 aims to protect renters from landlords appeared first on The Atlanta Voice. ...read more read less