Senate · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session

SB 107: Specialized Land Transactions; protections of homeowners in community associations; provide

Last action January 12, 2026 · Senate Recommitted

A Georgia Senate bill would limit when condominium and homeowners association boards can foreclose on a home for unpaid dues, give homeowners a chance to buy back a foreclosed home, and create a state ombudsman office to police association disputes.

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In plain language

Under current Georgia law, condominium and property owners' associations can foreclose on a home once a lien for unpaid assessments reaches a certain size. This bill removes the old $2,000 minimum lien threshold and instead bars foreclosure if the lien is less than a year's worth of assessments, or if it consists only of fines rather than unpaid dues. It also bans the association itself, its board members, or affiliates from buying the home at the foreclosure sale. The bill gives homeowners up to 180 days after a foreclosure sale to redeem their home by repaying the association and the buyer for costs and fees. For associations created after July 1, 2025, it requires waiving a year of assessments for owners who die insolvent or become disabled and suffer financial hardship. It also creates a Community Association Ombudsman inside the Department of Community Affairs to field complaints, mediate disputes, monitor board elections, and register associations, which would pay a $25 per unit annual fee.

What the bill does

Removes the current requirement that a lien must total at least $2,000 before a community association can foreclose on a home.
Bars foreclosure if the lien is less than 12 months of assessments or consists only of unpaid fines rather than dues.
Prohibits the foreclosing association, its board members, or affiliates from buying the home at its own foreclosure sale.
Creates a 180 day right for homeowners to redeem a foreclosed home by repaying the association and the purchaser's costs.
Requires newer community associations to waive a year of assessments for owners who die insolvent or become disabled with financial hardship.
Establishes a state Community Association Ombudsman to handle complaints, monitor elections, and register associations for a $25 per unit fee.

Who it affects

Homeowners living in condominiums and planned communities governed by mandatory homeowners or condominium associations, the associations and their boards and management companies, and the Department of Community Affairs, which would house the new ombudsman office and collect registration fees.

Why it matters

Homeowners facing foreclosure over unpaid dues would gain new legal protections, including a chance to buy their home back and limits on how small a debt can trigger foreclosure. Associations would face new reporting duties, fees, and a state office empowered to review their elections and disputes.

Key provisions

Sections 1 and 2 remove the $2,000 minimum lien amount required before condominium and property owners' associations can foreclose (O.C.G.A. §§ 44-3-109, 44-3-232).
New Code Section 44-3-270 bars foreclosure if the lien is under a year's assessments or consists only of fines, and bars the association or its board members from buying the home at sale.
New Code Section 44-3-271 gives homeowners 180 days after a foreclosure sale to redeem the home by repaying the association and purchaser's costs, effective for foreclosures on or after July 1, 2025.
New Code Section 44-3-272 requires associations formed after July 1, 2025 to waive at least 12 months of assessments for owners who die insolvent or become disabled with financial hardship, with refunds for prior payments.
New Code Sections 44-3-280 through 44-3-282 create the Office of the Community Association Ombudsman within the Department of Community Affairs, appointed by the commissioner, to mediate disputes and maintain a registry of associations.
New Code Section 44-3-284 lets the ombudsman recommend waiving fines, which become automatically approved unless a majority of association members reject the recommendation within 120 days.
New Code Section 44-3-285 lets 15 percent of members or six unit owners petition for an independent election monitor at board elections.
New Code Section 44-3-286 requires annual registration with the ombudsman and a $25 per unit fee, deposited in the state treasury for the office's operations.

From the bill

“no foreclosure action against a lien on a unit in favor of a community association shall be permitted if the amount of the lien: (1) Is less than the total amount of assessments levied by the community association against the unit in the preceding 12 months”
Sets the new minimum threshold that must be met before a community association can foreclose on a home.

“The redemption rights conferred by this Code section are personal privileges and not property or property rights.”
Clarifies that a homeowner's right to buy back a foreclosed home cannot be sold or transferred like property.

“Each community association shall pay an annual registration fee to the ombudsman in the amount of $25.00 per unit within the residential community”
Sets the annual per-unit fee associations must pay to fund the new ombudsman office.

Discussed in meetings (1)

The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.

Senate Urban Affairs Committee, February 26, 2026
From 1:27:53 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The chair described SB 107 as protecting homeowners through monitoring association-board elections and requiring annual association registration and related fees. The chair said the bill was in Economic Development, had not moved and was among the proposals for which the chair was seeking a hearing before the committee stopped taking additional bills. No vote occurred.

Status timeline

2026-01-12Senate Recommitted (Senate)
2025-03-04Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
2025-03-03Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
2025-02-06Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2025-02-05Senate Hopper (Senate)

Topics

homeowners associations
condominium law
foreclosure protections
community association ombudsman
property law

Ask about this bill

Machine-readable https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb107.md · https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md · MCP https://mcp.georgiacommons.org/mcp