SB 257: Department of Human Services; adopt and implement affordable family housing assistance programs; authorize local governments

Currently Georgia law does not set up a specific framework for local governments to run their own affordable housing assistance programs. This bill creates one. Starting January 1, 2026, any local government could choose to adopt an ordinance or resolution setting up a program that offers loans, grants, guarantees, or other financial assistance to help build or rehab affordable housing, or to help low-income and very low-income renters cover security deposits and first or last month's rent. Before a program can operate, the local government must get a certificate of approval from the Division of Family and Children Services, which can later revoke that certificate if the local rules lapse or the government fails to report as required. Local governments must keep program money in a separate trust fund, and any assistance for building housing must reserve at least 40 percent of units for low-income renters and 20 percent for very low-income renters. The division must set initial rules by October 1, 2025, and publish county income limits used to decide eligibility. The law would take effect July 1, 2025.

• Authorizes, but does not require, local governments in Georgia to adopt affordable family housing assistance programs starting January 1, 2026.
• Requires local governments to obtain a certificate of approval from the Division of Family and Children Services before their program can take effect, and lets the division revoke that certificate for noncompliance.
• Requires local governments to create and maintain a separate affordable family housing assistance trust fund to hold and disburse program money.
• Requires that housing built or rehabbed with program assistance reserve at least 40 percent of units for low-income renters and 20 percent for very low-income renters.
• Requires local governments to file annual reports with the division on trust fund activity and assistance awarded.
• Directs the division to determine and publish county-level median income figures used to decide who qualifies as low-income or very low-income.

Local governments (counties, cities, and consolidated governments) that choose to run these programs, the Department of Human Services' Division of Family and Children Services, low-income and very low-income renters and homeowners, homeless individuals, and developers or sponsors who build or rehabilitate affordable housing.

Local governments that want to help residents afford housing would gain a defined legal pathway to do so, with state oversight and reporting requirements. Low-income and very low-income Georgians in participating jurisdictions could get help with rent, deposits, or access to newly built or rehabbed affordable units, though nothing requires any local government to act.

• Section 1 clarifies that the Department of Human Services supervises county departments under Article 1 of Chapter 3, Title 49, reflecting the new article added by this bill.
• Section 2 adds new Code Sections 49-3-10 through 49-3-21, defining terms like 'affordable family housing,' 'low-income person,' and 'very low-income person' based on percentages of county median income.
• New Code Section 49-3-11 lets local governments adopt programs on or after January 1, 2026 to fund housing construction/rehab or rental assistance (deposits, first and last month's rent).
• New Code Section 49-3-12 requires local governments to apply for and receive a certificate of approval from the division before their program can operate.
• New Code Section 49-3-14 allows the division to revoke a certificate if the local ordinance lapses, the local government's actions don't match its ordinance, or reporting requirements aren't met.
• New Code Section 49-3-16 requires that assisted housing construction/rehab reserve at least 40 percent of units for low-income renters and 20 percent for very low-income renters.
• New Code Section 49-3-19 requires annual reporting to the division on trust fund deposits, disbursements, and assistance awarded.
• New Code Section 49-3-21 requires the division to adopt initial rules by October 1, 2025, following public comment, under the Georgia Administrative Procedure Act.

1. 2025-02-27Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2025-02-26Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Donzella James (D, SD-28)Primary sponsor

• affordable housing
• local government programs
• low-income assistance
• rental assistance
• housing trust funds