Owners in Columbus, Georgia switch property managers for ordinary reasons. The rent started arriving late. Nobody calls back. Or the company you hired is getting out of the business and you have a few weeks to find someone new. Whatever the reason, the switch itself is mostly paperwork — and in Georgia, one piece of that paperwork decides whether you can ever keep a dollar of a tenant's deposit.
Here is how to switch property managers in Columbus, GA without losing a tenant, a month of rent, or that deposit.
How do I switch property managers in Columbus, GA?
Three things have to move with the house: the tenants' security deposits, the signed move-in damage lists, and the lease files. Your current management agreement decides how much notice you owe. Georgia law decides how the deposits move — into a dedicated escrow account, with tenants told in writing where it is (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-31).
Read your current agreement before you send anything
The notice period is not set by state law. It is whatever you signed. Before you call anyone, pull the agreement and find four things:
- The termination clause. How much written notice it requires, and whether it has to be delivered a particular way.
- Any termination fee. Some agreements charge one if you leave early. Better to know the number before the conversation than after.
- Who controls the lease. Some agreements claim a fee for the life of any tenant the manager placed, even after you leave. Read that line twice.
- What they owe you at the end. The agreement should say what records come back to you and how fast.
Then give notice in writing, keep a copy, and put the handover date in the letter.
The deposits are the part that can cost you
Here is the piece most owners don't know. Georgia lets a small landlord who owns ten or fewer units skip some of its deposit rules — but that exemption disappears the moment a third party manages the property for a fee (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-36). If your house has ever been professionally managed, the full rules apply:
- The deposit has to sit in an escrow account set up only for that purpose, at a regulated bank, and the tenant has to be told in writing where it is (§ 44-7-31).
- Before the tenant paid that deposit, they were supposed to get a written list of existing damage, which you both signed (§ 44-7-33).
- Georgia ties your right to keep any part of a deposit to those records, and missing the deadlines for the move-out list and statement forfeits it outright (§ 44-7-35).
So when the old manager hands over the house, the money is only half of it. If the signed move-in list is lost in the switch, you may be the one paying for the carpet when that tenant leaves in two years.
| Get this from the outgoing manager | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Every tenant's security deposit, moved to the new escrow account | The deposit must be held in escrow while a manager is involved (§§ 44-7-31, 44-7-36) |
| A deposit ledger: tenant, amount, date paid | So the amount you are holding matches what each tenant paid |
| The signed move-in damage list for each tenant | Your right to withhold anything at move-out depends on it (§§ 44-7-33, 44-7-35) |
| The current lease, renewals and any addenda | The terms the tenant actually agreed to are the ones you can enforce |
| Rent ledger and any open balances | So nobody pays twice or gets a late fee they don't owe |
| Keys, codes and open work orders | So the first maintenance call after the switch doesn't start from zero |
Tell the tenants, in writing, before the first rent day
The easiest mess to prevent is rent paid to the old company after the switch. Send every tenant a short letter: who manages the house now, where and how to pay rent starting on what date, who to call for repairs, and where their deposit is now held — Georgia requires that last one in writing anyway. One letter, sent before the first of the month, saves a month of chasing.
If any of your houses are in Phenix City or elsewhere in Russell County, those deposits run on Alabama law, not Georgia's. We laid out the differences in Georgia vs. Alabama landlord law. And if a tenant is already behind when the switch happens, the procedure is in how long it takes to evict a tenant in Columbus, GA.
This is general information about Georgia law as it applies in Columbus and Muscogee County, not legal advice — laws change, and your own management agreement controls the notice and fees.
If you're switching and want a second set of eyes on the handover, send us the address and a copy of your current agreement. We'll tell you what your notice clause says and what to ask the old manager for before you sign anything with us. Start with what we do for owners or our Columbus property management page, or browse the rest of our Columbus property management guides.
Written by Carlos Alex Rozwadowski, Premier Realtors of Columbus Property Management. Former U.S. Army Ranger, 75th Ranger Regiment. Managing Columbus rentals since 2007.
