Rental housing

Affordable rental options include rental apartments or homes that have units set aside for lower income residents, Public Housing, and Housing Choice Vouchers (Sec. 8).

For listings of affordable rental housing, as well as links to other GA Department of Community Affairs (DCA) housing resources, go to www.georgiahousingsearch.org or call 1-877-428-8844.

Landlords can also use this free service to find potential renters by listing their rental property here.

For questions about public rental housing in Thomasville, call the Housing Authority of Thomasville at 229-228-1460.

DCA announces the opening and closing of the Georgia Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8) waiting list by publishing a Public Notice in the legal section of the classifieds in the newspaper that serves the county that will be opened. To check if a waiting list is open for a county, call 888-858-6085. For information about the Thomas County wait list call 888-279-2549. For more information on this program on the DCA website, click here.

To find out more about Sec 8 and see links to other affordable housing programs through HUD, click here.

Landlord Responsibilities and Tenant Rights

There are laws in Georgia that govern your rights as a tenant.

The City of Thomasville has compiled a booklet that contains information on these laws as well as other useful housing and code enforcement information specific to the City. Pick up a copy of the Guide to Housing and Property Maintenance at the Planning and Zoning office at 413 W Jackson St.

This booklet contains information on Georgia landlord-tenant law. This information is not to be construed as legal advice to either landlord or tenant. The public library has copies of the Official Code of Georgia for your review. Landlords must meet the requirements of the City's property maintenance code.

In Georgia, landlord-tenant rights and responsibilities are generally enforced through the courts. The City of Thomasville does not have the power to intervene in a financial dispute between a landlord and tenant. However, we can offer assistance to tenants whose living conditions are in conflict with our property maintenance code.

The Georgia Department of Community Affairs contracts with the Georgia Legal Services Program to operate a Landlord-Tenant Hotline which provides general information, simple advice and referrals to callers with residential landlord-tenant questions. This service is available to all Georgians. The Landlord-Tenant Hotline is not a regulatory agency. It does not provide direct intervention or enforcement. You may contact them at 800-369-4706 or visit their website at www.glsp.org.

Other Resources

If you believe you have experienced discrimination by a landlord in renting a house or apartment, go to the HUD Fair Housing website to learn how to file a complaint.

The Georgia Legal Aid website (www.legalaid-ga.org) has information about your rights and responsibilities as a renter and other housing related topics. There is useful information about leases, what to do if you have a dispute with your landlord, or other such topics. A Georgia Landlord Tenant Handbook is found in the “Basic Landlord Tenant Law” section under Housing.