HB403: HB403 Property; enhance protections for homeowners and tenants by revising or repealing certain provisions inhibiting housing stability

Georgia law currently lets condominium and homeowners' association liens attach to properties for unpaid dues, bars local governments from regulating rent on private rental housing, and allows lenders to foreclose on real estate through a nonjudicial power-of-sale process without a court hearing. House Bill 403 would touch all of these areas. The bill reorganizes how condominium and property owners' association liens rank against other liens (mortgages, tax liens, and so on) in Code Sections 44-3-80, 44-3-109, 44-3-117, 44-3-206, 44-3-207, 44-3-225, and 44-3-232. It creates a new Code Section 44-5-49 voiding sales of single-family homes, including town homes, to large real estate investment trusts that own at least $30 million worth or 12,000 units of Georgia rental homes. It repeals the state law (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-19) that currently stops cities and counties from setting rent limits on private rental property. It also bars nonjudicial foreclosure sales against homeowners who are 65 or older or under legal guardianship, and updates who counts as a 'debtor' entitled to foreclosure notices. The changes take effect when signed by the Governor.

• Voids future sales of single-family homes and town homes to real estate investment trusts that already own at least $30 million worth or 12,000 rental units of single-family housing in Georgia (Section 8).
• Repeals Georgia's ban on local rent regulation (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-19), which would let cities and counties set rules on rent for privately owned single-family or multi-unit rental housing (Section 9).
• Bars nonjudicial 'power of sale' foreclosures, meaning foreclosures without a court order, against debtors who are 65 or older or who are legal wards under a guardianship (Section 10).
• Expands the legal definition of 'debtor' in foreclosure notice law so that a current property owner, not just the original borrower, must be notified if the lender knows who owns the property (Section 11).
• Reorganizes lien-priority rules for condominium and homeowners' association assessments, spelling out that property tax liens and first mortgages rank ahead of association liens (Sections 1 through 7).

Condominium and homeowners' association members and boards, tenants and landlords in privately owned rental housing, local city and county governments, large real estate investment trusts that buy single-family rental homes, elderly homeowners and people under legal guardianship, and mortgage lenders and foreclosure trustees.

If enacted, large corporate landlords could be blocked from buying more single-family rental homes in Georgia, cities could start setting local rent rules for the first time in decades, and homeowners 65 or older or under guardianship could not lose their homes through a foreclosure process that skips a judge, changing day-to-day protections for renters and older homeowners.

• Sections 1 through 7 revise how condominium and property owners' association liens for unpaid assessments rank against mortgages and tax liens, spelling out priority order in new subsections (a.1).
• Section 8 adds Code Section 44-5-49, voiding conveyances of single-family dwellings, including town homes, to real estate investment trusts that hold at least $30 million or 12,000 rental units statewide.
• Section 9 repeals Code Section 44-7-19, removing the state-level prohibition on local governments regulating rent for privately owned residential rental property.
• Section 10 adds a new subsection to Code Section 44-14-162 making nonjudicial foreclosure sales invalid against debtors who are 65 or older or legal wards.
• Section 11 revises Code Section 44-14-162.1 so the term 'debtor' can include a current property owner known to the lender, not only the original borrower.
• Section 12 sets the effective date as the date of the Governor's signature, with Section 8 applying to conveyances made on or after that date and Sections 10 and 11 applying to mortgages and lien contracts entered on or after that date.

1. 2025-02-13House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-12House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-11House Hopper (House)

• Eric Bell (D, HD-075)Primary sponsor
• Phil Olaleye (D, HD-059)
• Viola Davis (D, HD-087)
• Sandra Scott (D, HD-076)
• Spencer Frye (D, HD-122)
• L.C. Myles (D, HD-126)

• landlord and tenant law
• rent control
• real estate investment trusts
• foreclosure protections
• homeowners association liens