Georgia CommonsSenate · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session
SB 361: Property Owners' Associations; authorization of liens and use of assessments; provide
Last action March 27, 2025 · Senate Read and Referred
A Georgia Senate bill would tighten the rules property owners' associations must follow before foreclosing on a lien for unpaid assessments, and would require associations to register with the Secretary of State and submit to new dispute hearings.
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 Introduced version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Under current Georgia law, a property owners' association can foreclose a lien for unpaid assessments once it has sent notice by certified mail and waited 30 days, as long as the lien is at least $2,000. This bill changes that process. It requires the association to first get written authorization to proceed from the Secretary of State's office before the 30-day notice period can start, and it raises the minimum lien amount needed to foreclose from $2,000 to $4,000. It also bars associations from using any part of members' assessments to pay for the cost of foreclosing on a lien. The bill also adds a new registration system. Anyone forming a property owners' association would have to file registration details, including bylaws, officer names, and a list of lots, with the Secretary of State when filing incorporation papers, and update that filing every year. By January 1, 2026, the Secretary of State must set up rules for administrative hearings to resolve disputes between associations and owners, and the Department of Banking and Finance must create rules for how associations escrow member funds.
What the bill does
- Requires associations to obtain written authorization from the Secretary of State's office before starting the 30-day foreclosure notice period on a lien.
- Raises the minimum unpaid assessment lien amount required before an association can foreclose, from $2,000 to $4,000.
- Bans associations from spending any portion of members' assessments on the cost of foreclosing against a lien.
- Creates a new requirement that associations register with the Secretary of State when incorporating and file updated registration information every year by December 31.
- Directs the Secretary of State to create administrative hearing rules by January 1, 2026 for disputes between associations and lot owners, with a filing fee reimbursed to the winning party.
- Directs the Department of Banking and Finance to create rules by January 1, 2026 for how associations must escrow member funds.
Who it affects
Property owners' associations across Georgia and the declarants who form them, lot owners who are members of these associations and may face liens or foreclosure for unpaid assessments, the Secretary of State's office, and the Department of Banking and Finance.
Why it matters
Lot owners facing foreclosure over unpaid dues would get an added procedural step and a higher dollar threshold before an association could foreclose, and could request a state hearing to dispute charges. Associations would face new registration paperwork, annual filings, and restrictions on using dues to cover foreclosure costs.
Key provisions
- Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 44-3-232(c) to require written authorization from the Secretary of State before the foreclosure notice period begins.
- Section 1 raises the minimum lien amount needed for foreclosure from $2,000 to $4,000 and bars using assessment funds to pay foreclosure costs.
- Section 2 creates new Code Section 44-3-236(a) requiring associations to file registration information, including bylaws, officers, and lot lists, when incorporating.
- Section 2 requires annual updated registration filings by December 31 each year under subsection (b).
- Section 2 requires the Secretary of State to establish administrative hearing rules for owner-association disputes by January 1, 2026, with a reimbursable filing fee for the prevailing party.
- Section 2 requires the Department of Banking and Finance to establish rules for escrow of association funds by January 1, 2026.
- Section 3 repeals conflicting laws.
From the bill
“no portion of any assessments shall be applied by an association to the cost of foreclosing against a lien.”
“By January 1, 2026, the Secretary of State shall promulgate rules and regulations providing for administrative hearings regarding disputes between associations and owners.”
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 1:09:18 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: An organizer of an association-board collaboration group said registration and reporting requirements associated with SB 361 could burden volunteer boards with limited resources. The witness suggested scaling requirements or allowing communities to choose reporting by vote. In a later update, the chair described the bill as addressing liens, use of assessments, association registration, administrative hearings and funds held in escrow. The chair said some escrow-related material appeared in another proposal. No amendment or vote occurred.
Status timeline
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- Senate Hopper (Senate)
Sponsors
- Matt Brass (R, SD-6)
- Donzella James (D, SD-28)
Topics
- property owners' associations
- homeowner liens
- foreclosure rules
- HOA regulation
- Secretary of State registration