SB576: SB576 Ad Valorem Taxation; assessment of tangible real property used for community housing provider properties; provide

Georgia normally assesses property for tax purposes at 40 percent of its fair market value. This bill would carve out a new category of "housing provider," defined as someone who owns a single-family home they don't live in and rents it out for a fee, and would assess that rental property at 100 percent of its value instead of 40 percent. A smaller group called "community housing providers" would be exempt from that higher rate. These are individuals, nonprofits, charitable organizations, or S-corporations, LLCs, and partnerships that own 500 or fewer properties in Georgia. Their rental properties would keep the normal 40 percent assessment. County tax assessors could require these providers to file a sworn affidavit by April 1 each year proving their status. The bill also requires landlords who are not community housing providers to hand over income and expense data to assessors on request.

• Creates a new legal definition of 'housing provider' covering owners of single-family homes they rent out for a fee without living in them.
• Defines 'community housing provider' as individuals, nonprofits, charities, or smaller entities (S-corps, LLCs, partnerships) owning 500 or fewer Georgia properties.
• Requires county tax assessors to assess rental property owned by a non-community housing provider at 100 percent of its fair market value, instead of the usual 40 percent.
• Keeps the standard 40 percent assessment rate for rental property owned by qualifying community housing providers.
• Lets tax assessors demand a sworn yearly affidavit, due by April 1, from community housing providers proving their eligibility.
• Requires landlords who are not community housing providers to give assessors income and expense data used to calculate property value.

Individual landlords and larger rental businesses that rent out single-family homes, nonprofit and charitable housing organizations, small landlord entities such as LLCs and partnerships owning up to 500 Georgia properties, and county tax assessors who administer these new assessment rules.

Landlords who don't qualify as community housing providers would see their rental properties taxed at more than double the usual assessment rate, likely raising their property tax bills, while smaller landlords, nonprofits, and charities keep the lower rate, changing the relative tax burden across different types of rental housing owners.

• Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 48-5-2 to define 'community housing provider,' 'housing provider,' and 'housing provider services' for property tax purposes.
• Section 1 also requires non-community housing providers to supply income and expense data to tax assessors on request when using the income approach to value.
• Section 2 adds subsection (c.7) to O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7, setting a 100 percent assessment rate for housing provider property not owned by a community housing provider.
• Section 2 sets a 40 percent assessment rate, the standard statewide rate, for community housing provider properties.
• Section 2 allows tax assessors to require an annual sworn affidavit, due by April 1, verifying a property's use or a provider's community housing provider status.
• Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2026-03-04Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
2. 2026-03-03Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
3. 2026-02-25Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
4. 2026-02-24Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Blake Tillery (R, SD-019)Primary sponsor

• property taxes
• rental housing
• landlord regulation
• ad valorem taxation
• affordable housing