When no term is stated
Georgia rule. Where the lease specifies no time, the law construes a tenancy at will (O.C.G.A. 44-7-6), and O.C.G.A. 44-7-7 sets the notice: 60 days from the landlord, 30 days from the tenant. To end the tenancy August 31, counting back 60 days puts the landlord's notice at July 2. The classic reversal is applying the tenant's 30-day figure to the landlord. Seven days is not a Georgia tenancy-at-will period, and "no notice" is wrong: the missing term is what triggers the statute.
Security deposit cap
Georgia rule, since July 1, 2024. For leases entered or renewed on or after that date, O.C.G.A. 44-7-30.1 bars a deposit over two months' rent. On rent of $1,850: 2 × $1,850 = $3,700. A one-month $1,850 cap is not Georgia's rule, $2,775 uses another state's multiplier, and "no cap" is the pre-2024 rule the Safe at Home Act changed.
Bad-faith withholding: treble damages
O.C.G.A. 44-7-35 makes a landlord who wrongfully withholds in bad faith liable for three times the sum improperly withheld plus attorney's fees. On a $2,000 deposit with $900 improperly withheld, the tenant recovers 3 × $900 = $2,700 plus fees. Only $900 is the reduced remedy where the withholding was unintentional and in good faith; $6,000 trebles the whole deposit.
Percentage and net leases
A percentage lease charges base rent plus a percentage of gross sales above a breakpoint. Base $3,000/month, 5% over $600,000, sales $840,000 — base $3,000 × 12 = $36,000; overage $240,000 × 5% = $12,000; total $48,000. Charging 5% on all sales, or dropping the base, are the wrong turns.
In a net lease the tenant pays base rent plus operating expenses: single net adds taxes, double net insurance, triple net (NNN) maintenance and common area charges. In a gross lease the landlord covers all three.
Assignment versus sublease
An assignment transfers the entire remaining term; a sublease less than the whole. Transferring both remaining years is an assignment, and the tenant remains liable absent a release or novation, which needs all parties' agreement.