Is a Landlord Liable When You’re Injured in a Rental Building’s Common Area?
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It can be, under the general premises statute rather than landlord-tenant law. The Supreme Court of Georgia held in Cham v. ECI Management Corp. (2021) that a landlord’s tort liability “is determined by the area where that danger lurks”: for a common area the landlord still possesses, O.C.G.A. § 51-3-1 applies; for space handed over to a tenant, § 44-7-14 applies. How much care was owed then depends on whether the injured person was an invitee or a licensee, and a tenant’s guest is not automatically an invitee.
Which statute applies
| Where the danger was | Statute | Landlord's exposure |
|---|---|---|
| Common area the landlord possesses (parking lot, hallway, stairwell, laundry room) | § 51-3-1 et seq. | The duty owed to invitees, or the lesser duty owed to licensees (§ 51-3-2) |
| Inside space fully leased to a tenant | § 44-7-14 | Only for "defective construction" or "failure to keep the premises in repair"; not for "the negligence or illegal use of the premises by the tenant" |
Cham put it directly: “If the dangerous condition that ultimately causes an injury is located in an area the landlord still possesses, then liability under OCGA § 51-3-1 et seq. applies, and OCGA § 44-7-14 does not apply by its own terms”.
A tenant’s guest may be a licensee
In Cham, a man staying with his girlfriend in her apartment was shot and killed during an armed robbery in the complex’s parking lot, a common area. The jury returned a verdict for the owner and manager. The Supreme Court held that the trial court did not err by instructing the jury on the duty owed to a licensee, because there was evidence supporting that theory even though he was a guest of a lawful tenant.
The difference matters. An invitee is owed ordinary care (§ 51-3-1); a licensee can recover “only for willful or wanton injury” (§ 51-3-2(b)). The statutory definitions are explained in invitee, licensee, or trespasser.
The repair duty in § 44-7-13 is a contract duty
Section 44-7-13(a) says the landlord “shall keep the premises in repair”. Cham repeated that this Code section “imposes contractual, but not tort, liability on a landlord”, quoting earlier decisions including Langley v. MP Spring Lake, LLC (2019): “the duties imposed by OCGA § 44-7-13 sound only in contract, not in tort”. A tenant’s personal injury claim is therefore built on § 44-7-14 or § 51-3-1, not on § 44-7-13 alone.
That shapes how to read the 2024 Safe at Home Act. HB 404 added § 44-7-13(b), under which any lease or similar agreement for a dwelling “is deemed to include a provision that the premises is fit for human habitation”, for residential leases “entered into or renewed on or after July 1, 2024”. The provision sits in § 44-7-13, the section Cham and Langley describe as imposing contract duties, and its text says nothing about tort liability for injuries.
Crimes in common areas
An attack in a parking lot or hallway is a negligent security claim. For incidents on or after April 21, 2025, the statute in §§ 51-3-50 through 51-3-57 controls, and a licensee can rely only on a particularized warning plus willful and wanton failure to act (§ 51-3-52). There is also no claim based on a tenant’s or tenant’s guest’s wrongful conduct if the owner had already begun eviction proceedings against that tenant (§ 51-3-54(4)). See property owner liability for an attack.
Records that matter after a common-area injury
- Where exactly the injury happened, and whether that area is shared or part of a unit.
- The lease, its date, and who is named on it, which bear on status and on § 44-7-13(b).
- Written repair requests and responses, with dates.
- Photographs of the condition, lighting, handrails, or surface.
- Prior complaints or incident reports involving the same area; for slip-and-fall proof, see what you must prove in a Georgia slip-and-fall case.
Sources
- O.C.G.A. §§ 44-7-13 (as amended by HB 404, 2024), 44-7-14, 51-3-1, 51-3-2, 51-3-52, 51-3-54.
- Cham v. ECI Management Corp., 311 Ga. 170 (2021)
- HB 404 (2024), Georgia General Assembly
General information about Georgia law as of October 2026. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.