---
title: HB 618. Property; require any seller of real property to make certain disclosures regarding flood damage to such real property
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb618
cite_as: HB 618, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb618
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb618.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb618/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70749
date: 2026-03-31
status: engrossed
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 1086
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb618.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 618
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-03-06
last_action: Senate Tabled
sponsors:
- Joe Campbell
- Scott Holcomb
- Bill Yearta
- Steven McNeel
text_version: Comm Sub
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB618/2025
upstream_id: 1982104
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- flood disclosure
- real estate transactions
- home buying
- consumer protection
- mechanic's liens
---
# HB 618. Property; require any seller of real property to make certain disclosures regarding flood damage to such real property
## Text
The Senate Committee on Judiciary offered the following
substitute to HB 618:
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Title 44 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to property, so as to
provide for certain protections in the conveyancing of real property in this state; to require
any seller of real property in this state to make certain disclosures regarding flood damage
to such property; to provide a definition; to provide for violations of the "Fair Business
Practices Act of 1975"; to exclude any requirements for an independent investigation or
inquiry; to provide for a fine for any frivolous mechanic lien filed; to provide for related
matters; to provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Title 44 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to property, is amended in
Chapter 1, relating to general provisions, by revising Code Section 44-1-18, which is
designated as reserved, as follows:
"44-1-18.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term 'flood' means means any inundation from rising
waters or from the overflow of streams, rivers, or other bodies of water, or from tidal
surges, abnormally high tidal water, tidal waves, tsunamis, hurricanes, or the unusual and
rapid accumulation of standing water resulting from a storm.
(b) In addition to any other disclosures required by federal or state law, prior to any arm's
length transaction of any one-to-four family residential real property located within any
county in this state, 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 by affirming
or denying each of the following:
(1) Any physical damage to the property or improvements located on such property
caused by a flood during such seller's ownership of such property;
(2) Any insurance claim made by such seller for any damages due to a flood loss covered
under the National Flood Insurance Program or a private flood insurance policy;
(3) Any repairs made by such seller to the property or improvements located on such
property as a result of a flood regardless of whether any insurance claim was filed;
(4) Any notification to such seller regarding the designation of such property as a
repetitive loss structure or severe repetitive loss structure as defined in 42 U.S.C.
Section 4104c(h); and
(5) Any notification to such seller to obtain and maintain flood insurance under federal
law, such as because of a previous form of disaster assistance received by any owner of
such property under the federal Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 5121, et seq.
(c) The required disclosures provided for in subsection (b) of this Code section shall be in
writing, shall be based on the seller's knowledge of a flood impacting such property during
such seller's ownership of such property, and shall identify the approximate date or dates
of any flood impacting such property during such seller's ownership of such property and
the nature of any repairs made to such property during such seller's ownership of such
property.
(d) 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.'
(e) Nothing in this Code section shall be construed as requiring a seller or any real estate
broker or advisor representing or working with a seller, landlord, buyer, or tenant to
undertake any independent investigation of or inquiry into any subject matter requiring
disclosure under subsection (b) of this Code section. Reserved."
SECTION 2.
Said title is further amended in Chapter 14, relating to mortgages, conveyances to secure
debt, and liens, by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"44-14-361.6.
Any lien filed pursuant to Code Section 44-14-361 that is made without substantial
justification or that is not made in good faith or that is made with malice or a wrongful
purpose, as such terms are defined in Code Section 51-7-80, shall be subject to a fine of
$1,500.00 per lien filed, in addition to reasonable attorney's fees or court costs."
SECTION 3.
This Act shall become effective on January 1, 2027.
SECTION 4.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
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.
### Plain-language summary
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 it 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.
## Status
- Status: Engrossed (2025-03-06)
- Last action: Senate Tabled (2026-03-31)
- Sponsors: Joe Campbell, Scott Holcomb, Bill Yearta, Steven McNeel
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70749
> The history, votes, and amendments (1,086 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb618.md?full=1