Georgia CommonsHB 618: Property; require any seller of real property to make certain disclosures regarding flood damage to such real property
Last action March 31, 2026 · Senate Tabled
HB618 would require sellers of one-to-four family homes in Georgia to disclose past flood damage and related insurance claims to buyers, and would fine frivolous mechanic liens $1,500.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Comm Sub version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
Currently Georgia law has no specific requirement that home sellers tell buyers about past flooding. HB 618 fills in a previously reserved section of state property law (O.C.G.A. § 44-1-18) to require sellers of one-to-four family residential properties to disclose, in writing, any flood damage, insurance claims, repairs, or federal flood-insurance notices tied to the property during the seller's ownership. Failing to make these disclosures on purpose would count as a violation of Georgia's Fair Business Practices Act of 1975, which covers unfair or deceptive business practices. The bill does not require sellers or real estate agents to investigate flood history themselves; it only requires disclosure of what they already know. Separately, the bill adds a $1,500 fine plus attorney's fees and court costs for anyone who files a mechanic's lien on real property without good faith or legal justification. Both changes would take effect January 1, 2027.
What the bill does
- Requires sellers of one-to-four family residential real property to disclose known flood damage, repairs, and insurance claims from their ownership period.
- Requires disclosures to be in writing and include approximate dates of flooding and the nature of any repairs made.
- Makes willful failure to disclose flood history a violation of the Fair Business Practices Act of 1975 (O.C.G.A. Title 10), Georgia's consumer protection law.
- Clarifies that sellers and real estate agents are not required to independently investigate a property's flood history, only disclose what they already know.
- Creates a new $1,500 fine per lien, plus attorney's fees and court costs, for mechanic's liens filed without good faith or legal justification.
- Sets the effective date for all these changes as January 1, 2027.
Who it affects
Sellers and buyers of one-to-four family homes in Georgia, real estate brokers and agents involved in those sales, and contractors or others who file mechanic's liens on real property. Homeowners who have experienced flooding or filed flood insurance claims are especially affected.
Why it matters
Buyers would gain access to a home's flood and repair history before purchase, information that can affect insurance costs and safety decisions. Sellers face a new legal disclosure duty enforceable under consumer protection law, and anyone filing a bad-faith mechanic's lien would risk a financial penalty.
Key provisions
- Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 44-1-18, previously reserved (blank), to define 'flood' and require written seller disclosures for one-to-four family homes.
- Subsection (b) lists five specific disclosure items: physical flood damage, insurance claims, repairs, repetitive loss designations, and federal flood insurance notification history.
- Subsection (d) makes willful nondisclosure a violation of the Fair Business Practices Act of 1975 (O.C.G.A. Title 10, Chapter 1, Article 15, Part 2).
- Subsection (e) exempts sellers and real estate agents from any duty to independently investigate flood history beyond what they already know.
- Section 2 adds O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.6, imposing a $1,500 fine per lien, plus attorney's fees and court costs, for mechanic's liens filed without substantial justification, good faith, or for a wrongful purpose.
- Section 3 sets the effective date as January 1, 2027.
From the bill
“it shall be the seller's responsibility to disclose any knowledge of a flood impacting such property during such seller's ownership of such property”
“Any willful omission to any disclosure requirement provided for under this Code section shall be considered an unlawful act as provided under Part 2 of Article 15 of Chapter 1 of Title 10, the 'Fair Business Practices Act of 1975.'”
“shall be subject to a fine of $1,500.00 per lien filed, in addition to reasonable attorney's fees or court costs.”
Status timeline
- Senate Tabled (Senate)
- Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
- Senate Tabled (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Recommitted (Senate)
- Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
- Senate Tabled (Senate)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
Show full history (16 actions)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Joe Campbell (R, HD-171)
- Scott Holcomb (D, HD-101)
- Bill Yearta (R, HD-152)
- Steven McNeel (R, SD-018)
Votes
- House voteMarch 6, 2025
170 yea, 2 nay (4 not voting, 4 absent)
- Senate voteMarch 27, 2026
26 yea, 22 nay (3 not voting, 3 absent)
Topics
- flood disclosure
- real estate transactions
- home buying
- consumer protection
- mechanic's liens