MACON, Ga. — One Bibb County judge is inviting both landlords and tenants to learn about a new law that protects tenants.
"I have been a landlord for 19 years," Larry Curtis said.
For him, being a landlord was only right.
"I just saw what they were doing, and it was something my dad wanted to do, so I just did it," Curtis said.
He oversees more than a dozen properties that sometimes need a little extra work.
"Mainly most of the problems are going to be plumbing issues and air conditioning," Curtis said.
He says he always tries to stay on top of maintenance problems, but now there is a new law to help protect tenants.
"We call it retaliatory evictions, where landlords will get upset because a tenant has called the code enforcer to come out, and look at the house or apartment that is not compliant or not livable," said Bibb County Chief Judge of the Civil & Magistrate court Pamela White-Colbert.
White-Colbert says under the new Georgia law, a landlord cannot evict a tenant or raise their rent for reporting problems like not repairing a roof.
"'When did you make the repair?' Asking the landlord, 'When did you receive the repair? What did you do? Have the conditions changed? Have you done what needs to be done?' So that is the biggest thing we see is lack of repairs," White-Colbert said.
She says tenants should always pay their rent, document, and report issues to their local code enforcement department.
"For the tenant, they need to understand the process," White-Colbert said.
That is why White-Colbert is hosting a workshop Friday for landlords and tenants to explain the landlord-tenant law. Colbert will host one session for landlords and one for tenants to answer any questions they may have about the law.
While tenants gain protection, Curtis hopes to keep his happy anyways.
"When there is a problem, I go out and fix it, I take care of them, and I understand their situations and their problems sometimes," he said.
The first workshop will be Friday at 10 a.m. for landlords and 2 p.m. for tenants in Bibb County Courthouse Room 417.