Senate · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session

SB 166: Counties; ordinances for governing and policing unincorporated areas of counties; revise provisions

Last action February 9, 2026 · Senate Read Second Time

A Georgia Senate bill would let counties and cities impose steeper fines on repeat code violators, tweak county ordinance penalty language, and allow local governments to require rental registration for landlords who own ten or more rental properties in a county.

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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

Current Georgia law caps county ordinance penalties at a $1,000 fine or up to 60 days of imprisonment, and generally bars local governments from requiring registration of residential rental property. This bill changes both. It replaces the word 'imprisonment' with 'confinement' in the county ordinance statute (O.C.G.A. § 36-1-20) and creates a new section (O.C.G.A. § 36-60-33) letting counties and municipalities set higher fines, up to $15,000, for repeat violations of codes covering zoning, subdivision rules, litter, junked vehicles, and overgrown vegetation, though homesteaded properties and small landlords with fewer than ten properties are exempt. The bill also amends the local code enforcement chapter (O.C.G.A. § 36-74-30) so a local government can require rental registration if the owner has ten or more single-family or duplex rentals in the same county. A new violation is added to the Fair Business Practices Act (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393) targeting owners who use multiple LLCs or corporate names to dodge that registration requirement.

What the bill does

Replaces 'imprisonment' with 'confinement' as the penalty term in the law authorizing county ordinances for unincorporated areas.
Creates a new escalating fine schedule for repeat violations of health and safety codes, from $3,000 for a second offense up to $15,000 for a fifth or later offense.
Exempts homesteaded properties and owners with fewer than ten rental properties in a county from the enhanced repeat-violation fines.
Allows local governments to require rental property registration if an owner has ten or more single-family or duplex rentals in that county, reversing the current general ban on such registration.
Adds a new violation to the Fair Business Practices Act (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393) for landlords who use multiple LLC or corporate names to dodge rental registration requirements.

Who it affects

County and municipal governments that enforce codes and ordinances, owners of rental and other real property, particularly landlords with ten or more single-family or duplex rentals in a county, homeowners with a homestead exemption, and small landlords who fall below that ten-property threshold.

Why it matters

Local governments would gain a tool to impose much larger fines, up to $15,000, on repeat code violators, and could start requiring larger-scale landlords to register their rental properties, while homeowners and small landlords stay shielded from the tougher penalties and registration rules.

Key provisions

Section 1 adds a new violation to the Fair Business Practices Act (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393) for attempts to avoid rental property registration using multiple business names.
Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 36-1-20, changing 'imprisonment' to 'confinement' and adding a cross-reference exception to the new enhanced penalty section.
Section 3 creates O.C.G.A. § 36-60-33, defining covered 'county or municipal codes or ordinances' and setting fine tiers: $3,000 for a second violation, $5,000 for a third, $10,000 for a fourth, and $15,000 for a fifth or later violation.
Section 3 also exempts homesteaded properties and owners of fewer than ten single-family or duplex properties in the same county from these enhanced fines.
Section 4 amends O.C.G.A. § 36-74-30 to let local governments require rental registration for owners with ten or more single-family or duplex properties in the same county.
Section 4 also adds a new subsection making attempted avoidance of registration through multiple LLC or corporate names a violation tied to the Fair Business Practices Act.
Section 5 repeals conflicting laws.

From the bill

“Enhanced monetary penalties authorized by this Code section shall not exceed:”
Introduces the new tiered fine schedule for repeat code violations.

“Any residential property owner or representative of such owner who attempts to avoid the required registration of some or all of his or her property through the use of multiple limited liability company or corporate names shall have violated this Code section”
Targets landlords who use multiple LLCs to dodge new rental registration rules.

Discussed in meetings (5)

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 floor session, January 27, 2026 (legislative day 7)
From 1:55:58 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (Senate Withdrawn & Recommitted)
Summary by Georgia Commons: A senator requested unanimous consent to move SB 166 from the State and Local Government Operations General Committee to the Urban Affairs Committee. The clerk read the bill's description, which said it would revise county ordinance provisions and authorize increased monetary penalties for repeated violations of certain county and municipal codes, subject to limits. The chair asked whether both committee chairs agreed to the transfer. With no objection, the Senate referred the bill to Urban Affairs. No debate on the bill's merits was shown.
Senate Urban Affairs Committee, January 29, 2026
From 0:23:48 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said SB 166 would let counties and municipalities opt into higher penalties for repeated code violations, targeting chronic violations by corporate landlords. The sponsor described penalties of $3,000 for a second violation, $5,000 for a third and $10,000 for a fourth, with higher penalties possible afterward. The sponsor said homesteads and owners with fewer than 10 single-family or duplex properties in the same county would be exempt, along with certain permit and building-code matters. Asked where fine revenue would go, the sponsor said the local government would decide how to spend it. The sponsor proposed adding a landlord registry and language preventing owners from avoiding accountability through another limited liability company. A committee member asked how registration would be enforced, and the sponsor agreed that needed attention. Legislative counsel offered to draft language, but no amendment was adopted. The chair designated the meeting as a hearing only and said the sponsor could return the following week with a substitute. No vote was taken.
Senate Urban Affairs Committee, February 5, 2026
From 0:19:56 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor presented a substitute for SB 166 intended to strengthen local enforcement against repeat landlords’ violations. The sponsor said local participation would be optional, fines would start at $3,000 and increase for repeat violations, and covered issues would include housing, zoning, trash, vegetation and safety. The sponsor said permit paperwork issues would generally be excluded unless permits were entirely missing. The sponsor also described provisions affirming counties’ enforcement authority and making attempts to evade registration through multiple companies a violation of the Fair Business Practices Act. The sponsor proposed removing language limiting registration to owners with at least 10 properties. One committee member questioned whether that change would require coordination across counties, warned about combining properties across counties for enforcement, and urged protecting small landlords. The sponsor acknowledged coordination would be needed but argued that smaller owners should also be covered. A second member proposed lowering the threshold to five properties, and the sponsor agreed. That amendment received no second. The committee approved the substitute unchanged by voice vote; the chair described the vote as unanimous, with none opposed.

Read aloud: Senate floor session, February 6, 2026 (legislative day 14), 0:38:40
Read aloud: Senate floor session, February 9, 2026 (legislative day 15), 0:26:39

Status timeline

2026-02-09Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
2026-02-06Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
2026-01-27Senate Withdrawn & Recommitted (Senate)
2025-02-13Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2025-02-12Senate Hopper (Senate)

Topics

local ordinances
code enforcement
rental property registration
county government
property fines

Ask about this bill

Machine-readable https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb166.md · https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md · MCP https://mcp.georgiacommons.org/mcp