SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact

Georgia currently has little state-level oversight of homeowners' and property owners' associations (HOAs). This bill would require most owners' associations to register annually with the Secretary of State, file their governing documents and a financial statement, and pay a $100 fee. Associations that skip registration could not collect fines, fees, or file liens, though they could formally opt out and become a 'nonregistered' association with more limited powers. The Secretary of State could deny, suspend, or revoke a registration, and the bill sets up hearing, appeal, and complaint procedures for owners who believe an association has wronged them, including an automatic stay on fee collection while a complaint is pending. The bill also lists specific owner rights, such as inspecting association records and attending meetings, and requires payments from owners to be applied first to regular dues before fines. It lengthens the notice period before an HOA can foreclose a lien from 30 to 60 days, raises the minimum lien amount for foreclosure, and requires associations to send a 30 day notice before seeking attorney's fees, with a judge reviewing those fees for reasonableness. Courts could also seal certain eviction case records under new conditions. Most of the Act takes effect January 1, 2027, except the attorney's fees section, which takes effect July 1, 2026.

• Requires owners' associations (HOAs) to register annually with the Secretary of State, submit governing documents and a financial statement, and pay a $100 fee, or else lose the ability to collect fines, fees, or file liens.
• Lets an association formally opt out of registration by notifying the Secretary of State, becoming a 'nonregistered owners' association' barred from assessing or collecting fines, fees, or accelerated assessments.
• Creates a hearing, complaint, and appeal process through the Secretary of State and courts for owners who claim they were harmed by an association's action, including a temporary automatic stay on fee collection during a complaint.
• Lists specific rights owners have, such as inspecting association records, attending meetings, and being free from rules that dictate household composition beyond limited exceptions.
• Extends the required pre-foreclosure notice period on HOA liens from 30 to 60 days and raises the minimum lien amount needed before an association can foreclose.
• Requires an association to send a 30 day notice of unpaid fines or fees and an itemized attorney's fee list before it can collect attorney's fees, with a judge required to certify the fees are reasonable.

Property owners living in developments governed by homeowners' or property owners' associations, the associations themselves and their boards and agents, the Georgia Secretary of State's office, magistrate and superior courts handling appeals, and landlords and tenants affected by the dispossessory (eviction) records provision.

Homeowners could gain a formal complaint process and clearer notice before an HOA fines them, forecloses a lien, or charges attorney's fees, while associations would face new registration paperwork, fees, and state oversight, changing how disputes between owners and their HOAs are resolved in Georgia.

• Section 2 adds Chapter 17A to Title 43, creating the registration system, definitions of assessments and owners' associations, denial/suspension/revocation grounds, hearing and appeal procedures, and a list of owner rights (Code Sections 43-17A-1 through 43-17A-9).
• Section 5 amends O.C.G.A. § 44-3-232 to require 60 days' notice (up from 30) before lien foreclosure and raises the minimum lien amount to the lesser of $4,000 or 12 months of regular assessments, but not less than $2,000, excluding fines and specific assessments from that calculation.
• Section 6 amends O.C.G.A. § 44-3-235 to allow existing associations to submit to Article 6 of Chapter 3 by an 80 percent vote and recorded instrument, in addition to existing amendment procedures.
• Section 7 requires associations to give 30 days' written notice of outstanding fines or fees and an itemized attorney's fee list before collecting attorney's fees, and requires judges to certify the fees as reasonable in bench trials.
• Section 8 amends O.C.G.A. § 44-7-50 to let courts seal dispossessory (eviction) proceeding records under specified conditions, such as the tenant prevailing or the judgment being paid in full after seven years.
• Section 9 sets the Act's effective date as January 1, 2027, except Section 7's attorney's fees notice rules, which take effect July 1, 2026 and apply to actions filed on or after that date.

1. 2026-05-12Effective Date 2027-01-01
2. 2026-05-12Act 715
3. 2026-05-12Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
4. 2026-04-10Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
5. 2026-03-31Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub (Senate)
6. 2026-03-31House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
7. 2026-03-31House Third Readers (House)
8. 2026-03-20House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)

• Matt Brass (R, SD-006)Primary sponsor
• Donzella James (D, SD-028)
• Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-032)
• Clint Dixon (R, SD-045)
• Freddie Sims (D, SD-012)
• Tonya Anderson (D, SD-043)
• Carden Summers (R, SD-013)
• Timothy Bearden (R, SD-030)
• Nan Orrock (D, SD-036)
• Ricky Williams (R, SD-025)
• Frank Ginn (R, SD-047)
• RaShaun Kemp (D, SD-038)
• Shawn Still (R, SD-048)
• Chuck Hufstetler (R, SD-052)
• Drew Echols (R, SD-049)
• Lee Anderson (R, SD-024)
• David Lucas (D, SD-026)
• Chuck Payne (R, SD-054)
• Reynaldo Martinez (R, HD-111)

1. FailedSenate voteMarch 4, 2026

   11 yea, 40 nay (2 not voting, 2 absent)

   Adoption Of Amendment #2 By The Senator From The 5th: Senate Vote #627

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 4, 2026

   53 yea, 0 nay (0 not voting, 2 absent)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #628

3. PassedHouse voteMarch 31, 2026

   155 yea, 10 nay (4 not voting, 7 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #796

4. PassedSenate voteMarch 31, 2026

   51 yea, 0 nay (0 not voting, 3 absent)

   Agree To House Substitute: Senate Vote #918

• homeowners associations
• property owners rights
• HOA foreclosure rules
• landlord tenant law
• Secretary of State regulation