What a Single LLC for All Properties Actually Does
A single LLC holding multiple rental properties separates your real estate portfolio from your personal assets. If a tenant sues and wins a judgment against the LLC, your personal bank accounts, your home, and your other personal assets are protected by the LLC structure — assuming the LLC is properly maintained.
What a single LLC does not do: it does not separate your rental properties from each other. All properties inside the same LLC are exposed to the same liability pool. A judgment against the LLC is a judgment against the entity that holds every property in it.
A single LLC is the right starting point for a new investor with one or two properties. The formation cost in Georgia is $100 to file with the Secretary of State, plus annual registration fees of $50. The ongoing administrative burden — one set of books, one bank account, one tax return — is manageable.
The problem emerges when the portfolio grows. Each property you add to a single LLC increases the potential judgment exposure for every other property already in it. For a portfolio of five or more properties, the question is no longer whether the structure is simple — it is whether the simplicity is worth the concentrated risk.
The Liability Problem With One LLC
The liability argument for a single LLC rests on the assumption that the LLC structure itself provides property-to-property separation. It does not.
Consider this scenario: a tenant at Property A slips on an icy walkway and sues the LLC for $800,000. The jury returns a verdict for $600,000. Properties B, C, D, and E — all held in the same LLC — are now exposed to that judgment. The plaintiff can seek to satisfy the judgment from any LLC asset, which includes all properties the LLC holds.
The LLC wall protects you personally. It does not protect your properties from each other.
Landlord insurance provides a layer of protection, but it has policy limits and exclusions. A serious injury claim that exceeds your policy limits goes directly to the LLC’s assets — meaning every property in it.
Under Georgia LLC law, creditors of the LLC can pursue LLC assets directly. There is no charging-order-only protection at the entity level — charging order protection under O.C.G.A. § 14-11-504 applies to creditors of a member trying to reach the LLC, not to creditors of the LLC itself trying to reach LLC assets. A judgment against the LLC reaches LLC assets without restriction.
What Separate LLCs Per Property Actually Do
A separate LLC for each property creates a firewall between every property in your portfolio. A judgment against the LLC holding Property A cannot reach Properties B, C, or D — each is owned by a different legal entity with separate assets, separate liability, and separate creditors.
This is the core argument for separate LLCs: liability containment at the property level. The worst-case outcome for any single property is limited to the assets of the LLC that holds it.
Separate LLCs also create clean ownership records. Each property has its own entity, its own operating agreement, its own bank account, and its own tax reporting. For investors who plan to sell individual properties, a separate LLC structure makes the transaction cleaner — you can sell the LLC itself (including the property inside it) or just the property, and the books for that property are isolated.
The tradeoff is administrative. Each LLC requires its own annual registration ($50/year with Georgia Secretary of State), its own bank account, its own bookkeeping, and its own operating agreement. For a portfolio of ten properties, that is ten annual renewals, ten sets of books, and ten operating agreements to maintain and update.
The Cost and Administrative Burden of Separate LLCs
The cost comparison between one LLC and separate LLCs is often overstated in both directions.
Formation cost per Georgia LLC: $100 filing fee plus attorney fees for a properly drafted operating agreement — typically $800 to $1,500 per entity depending on complexity. A five-property portfolio with separate LLCs costs $4,000 to $7,500 in formation fees, compared to $800 to $1,500 for a single LLC covering all five properties.
Annual maintenance cost per Georgia LLC: $50 Secretary of State renewal fee. A ten-property portfolio with separate LLCs adds $500/year in renewal fees over a single LLC.
The ongoing cost difference is manageable for most investors. The more significant factor is the administrative load — ten separate bank accounts, ten separate sets of books, and ten separate tax filings (or ten K-1s through a holding company structure) add meaningful complexity to year-end accounting.
Many investors with larger portfolios use a hybrid approach: a management LLC that handles operations and contracts, with separate property-holding LLCs that own each property. This reduces some administrative duplication while preserving liability isolation at the property level.
Georgia Does Not Have a Series LLC — What That Means for You
Some states allow a “series LLC” — a single LLC that creates legally separate internal “series” or “cells,” each with its own assets and liabilities. A series LLC would let you hold ten properties inside one entity while maintaining property-level liability separation.
Georgia does not have a series LLC statute as of 2026. Georgia has not adopted the Uniform Protected Series Act or any equivalent. A series LLC formed in another state (Delaware, Texas, Illinois) can register to do business in Georgia, but Georgia courts have not definitively ruled on whether they will respect the series liability shields for Georgia real estate transactions. The protection is legally uncertain in Georgia courts.
For Georgia real estate investors, the practical options remain: one LLC with pooled liability, or separate LLCs with isolated liability. Until Georgia adopts a series LLC statute, investors who want genuine property-to-property liability separation use separate LLCs.
Which Structure Is Right for Your Portfolio
The right answer depends on portfolio size, risk tolerance, and the value of the properties involved.
1
One property or just starting out
A single LLC is appropriate. The formation and maintenance cost of separate entities is not justified when there is only one property at risk. Focus on getting the LLC-to-trust connection right rather than optimizing for liability isolation that does not yet matter.
2
Two to four properties
This is the decision point. If your properties are similar in value and risk profile, a single LLC may still be acceptable. If one property carries significantly higher liability risk (short-term rentals, older buildings, commercial tenants), consider separating it into its own LLC.
3
Five or more properties
Separate LLCs per property are the standard recommendation for Georgia investors at this portfolio size. The administrative cost is manageable, and the liability isolation becomes material as total portfolio value increases. The question to ask: if you lost Property A to a catastrophic judgment, would you want Properties B through E protected?
4
Connect every LLC to your trust
Regardless of whether you use one LLC or separate LLCs, each entity must be connected to your revocable living trust to avoid probate. A separate LLC per property with no trust still sends every membership interest through Georgia probate when you die. The LLC structure and the trust structure solve different problems — you need both. See How to Connect an LLC to a Trust in Georgia for the mechanics.
For the full cost breakdown of setting up an LLC-and-trust structure in Georgia, see the Real Estate Investor Estate Planning Pricing page.
