Senate · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session

SB 108: Property Owners' Associations; certificates of good standing for payment of annual assessments; provide

Last action January 12, 2026 · Senate Recommitted

A Georgia Senate bill would require property owners' associations to give lot owners annual good-standing certificates and offer mediation before placing a lien on a home for unpaid assessments.

Read the full bill text

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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 the General Assembly's website lists.

In plain language

Georgia law currently lets property owners' associations place liens on a lot for unpaid assessments (fees for shared community expenses) without first requiring any dispute resolution step. This bill changes that. It requires associations to give each lot owner, once a year and at no cost, a certificate showing whether all assessments have been paid in full. It also requires associations to adopt a written policy offering mediation, arbitration, or another neutral dispute resolution process before a lien for unpaid assessments can take effect, and bars a lien from forming unless that offer was made and honored if the owner requests it. The bill also requires both sides to act in good faith during dispute resolution, letting the wronged party recover attorney's fees if the other side does not, and it makes association liens rank below liens for unpaid medical bills. The changes would not apply to contracts signed before July 1, 2025 until they expire or first renew.

What the bill does

Requires associations to issue lot owners a free annual certificate confirming their assessments are paid in full, within 45 days of the fiscal year's end.
Requires associations to adopt a written alternative dispute resolution (mediation or similar neutral process) policy for assessment disputes and share it with owners yearly.
Prohibits an association from creating a lien for unpaid assessments unless it first offers the owner dispute resolution and participates if the owner requests it.
Requires all parties to act in good faith during dispute resolution and allows the wronged party to recover attorney's fees if the other side does not.
Lowers the priority of association liens below liens for unpaid medical bills, meaning medical debt would be paid first from those liens.
Exempts contracts signed before July 1, 2025 from the new rules until they expire or are first renewed.

Who it affects

Homeowners in Georgia communities governed by property owners' associations, the associations and their management companies, and lot owners who fall behind on assessments and may face liens. Owners with unpaid medical debt and their creditors are also affected by the new lien priority rules.

Why it matters

Homeowners would gain a formal, free way to challenge disputed fees through mediation before an association can place a lien on their property, and would get yearly proof their account is current. Associations would face new administrative duties and could owe attorney's fees if they do not negotiate in good faith.

Key provisions

Section 1 adds a requirement to O.C.G.A. § 44-3-225 that associations issue free annual good-standing certificates to lot owners within 45 days of the fiscal year's end.
Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 44-3-232 so a lien only attaches once the association completes the new dispute resolution requirements, and adds unpaid medical bill liens to the list of claims that outrank the association's lien.
Section 3 creates new Code Section 44-3-232.2, defining alternative dispute resolution and requiring associations to adopt a fair, prompt, and free dispute resolution policy for assessment disputes.
Section 3 also bars formation of a lien unless the association offered and, if requested, participated in dispute resolution, and allows recovery of attorney's fees for bad-faith conduct in that process.
Section 4 states the Act does not apply to contracts entered into before July 1, 2025 until they expire or are first renewed.

From the bill

“the association or its authorized agent shall provide the lot owner a certificate stating that such lot is in good standing within 45 days of the end of each fiscal year and without cost to the lot owner.”
This is the new requirement for annual, free good-standing certificates for lot owners.

“the lien for unpaid assessments or other charges as provided for in Code Section 44-3-225 shall not be created unless the association offers the lot owner participation in alternative dispute resolution”
This blocks an association from creating a lien unless it first offers mediation to the lot owner.

“the aggrieved party shall be entitled to recover reasonable attorney's fees incurred as a result of participating in such alternative dispute resolution.”
This lets an owner or association recover legal fees if the other side does not act in good faith during mediation.

Discussed in meetings (2)

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, January 29, 2026
From 1:00:31 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: A witness asked whether SB 108 was still moving forward. The chair said it remained alive but had not yet been heard. The witness requested changing a 2025 date in the bill, expressing concern about residents who entered their housing contracts before that year and later experienced medical problems. A committee member mentioned separate legislation being prepared to change the date. The discussion did not clearly explain how the date operated, and no amendment or vote followed.
Senate Urban Affairs Committee, February 26, 2026
From 1:09:18 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: An organizer of an association-board collaboration group warned that registration and reporting requirements associated with SB 108 could add costs and work for volunteer boards. The witness suggested fees scaled to community size or reporting chosen by a community vote. Later, the chair explained that the bill would provide certificates showing payment of annual assessments and require associations to offer alternative dispute resolution before placing a lien for unpaid assessments. The chair said homeowners often lack receipts needed to prove payment and described the certificates as a way to document payment history. The chair reported difficulty obtaining a hearing in Economic Development. 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

property owners associations
homeowner liens
dispute resolution
property taxes and liens
homeowner rights

Ask about this bill

Machine-readable https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb108.md · https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md · MCP https://mcp.georgiacommons.org/mcp