HB1497: HB1497 Georgia Home Title Protection and Deed Fraud Prevention Act; enact

Georgia law already sets rules for recording deeds and other real estate documents, including a requirement that certain paperwork list a return address for the person filing it. This bill adds a new requirement aimed at preventing confusion and fraud around quitclaim deeds, which transfer property without any guarantee about the seller's title. Under the bill, any instrument that transfers real property ownership without a title warranty, including quitclaim deeds, must include a bold capital-letter statement at the top of its first page. The statement tells the person signing that they are giving up ownership of the property once the document is properly executed and recorded with the clerk of superior court. The bill also names itself the 'Georgia Home Title Protection and Deed Fraud Prevention Act' and repeals any conflicting laws.

• Adds a new requirement to Georgia's deed recording law (O.C.G.A. \u00a7 44-2-14) for instruments that transfer property without a title warranty, such as quitclaim deeds.
• Requires those instruments to display a bold, all-capital-letters statement on the first page warning the grantor they are giving up ownership once the deed is recorded.
• Gives the bill an official short title, the 'Georgia Home Title Protection and Deed Fraud Prevention Act.'
• Repeals any existing state laws that conflict with the new requirement.

Homeowners and property sellers who sign quitclaim deeds or similar no-warranty transfer documents, the attorneys and title companies who prepare them, and county clerks of superior court who record real estate filings across Georgia.

Quitclaim deeds are sometimes used in scams where a property owner is misled into signing away their home without fully understanding the effect. Requiring a plain, bold warning on the document itself could help sellers recognize what they are agreeing to before losing ownership.

• Section 1 gives the Act its short title, the 'Georgia Home Title Protection and Deed Fraud Prevention Act.'
• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. \u00a7 44-2-14 by adding subsection (e), requiring a bold capital-letter warning statement on any no-warranty ownership transfer instrument, including quitclaim deeds.
• Section 2 specifies the exact wording of the required warning statement, explaining that the grantor loses ownership once the document is recorded with the clerk of superior court.
• Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard closing provision.

1. 2026-03-06House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-03-04House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-03-03House Hopper (House)

• Mary Ann Santos (D, HD-117)Primary sponsor
• Long Tran (D, HD-080)
• Spencer Frye (D, HD-122)
• Dale Washburn (R, HD-144)

• deed fraud
• property titles
• real estate law
• quitclaim deeds
• homeowner protection