HB 618: Property; require any seller of real property to make certain disclosures regarding flood damage to such real property

Currently Georgia law has no specific requirement that home sellers tell buyers about past flooding. HB 618 fills in a previously reserved section of state property law (O.C.G.A. § 44-1-18) to require sellers of one-to-four family residential properties to disclose, in writing, any flood damage, insurance claims, repairs, or federal flood-insurance notices tied to the property during the seller's ownership. Failing to make these disclosures on purpose would count as a violation of Georgia's Fair Business Practices Act of 1975, which covers unfair or deceptive business practices. The bill does not require sellers or real estate agents to investigate flood history themselves; it only requires disclosure of what they already know. Separately, the bill adds a $1,500 fine plus attorney's fees and court costs for anyone who files a mechanic's lien on real property without good faith or legal justification. Both changes would take effect January 1, 2027.

• Requires sellers of one-to-four family residential real property to disclose known flood damage, repairs, and insurance claims from their ownership period.
• Requires disclosures to be in writing and include approximate dates of flooding and the nature of any repairs made.
• Makes willful failure to disclose flood history a violation of the Fair Business Practices Act of 1975 (O.C.G.A. Title 10), Georgia's consumer protection law.
• Clarifies that sellers and real estate agents are not required to independently investigate a property's flood history, only disclose what they already know.
• Creates a new $1,500 fine per lien, plus attorney's fees and court costs, for mechanic's liens filed without good faith or legal justification.
• Sets the effective date for all these changes as January 1, 2027.

Sellers and buyers of one-to-four family homes in Georgia, real estate brokers and agents involved in those sales, and contractors or others who file mechanic's liens on real property. Homeowners who have experienced flooding or filed flood insurance claims are especially affected.

Buyers would gain access to a home's flood and repair history before purchase, information that can affect insurance costs and safety decisions. Sellers face a new legal disclosure duty enforceable under consumer protection law, and anyone filing a bad-faith mechanic's lien would risk a financial penalty.

• Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 44-1-18, previously reserved (blank), to define 'flood' and require written seller disclosures for one-to-four family homes.
• Subsection (b) lists five specific disclosure items: physical flood damage, insurance claims, repairs, repetitive loss designations, and federal flood insurance notification history.
• Subsection (d) makes willful nondisclosure a violation of the Fair Business Practices Act of 1975 (O.C.G.A. Title 10, Chapter 1, Article 15, Part 2).
• Subsection (e) exempts sellers and real estate agents from any duty to independently investigate flood history beyond what they already know.
• Section 2 adds O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.6, imposing a $1,500 fine per lien, plus attorney's fees and court costs, for mechanic's liens filed without substantial justification, good faith, or for a wrongful purpose.
• Section 3 sets the effective date as January 1, 2027.

1. 2026-03-31Senate Tabled (Senado)
2. 2026-03-31Senate Taken from Table (Senado)
3. 2026-03-27Senate Tabled (Senado)
4. 2026-03-18Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senado)
5. 2026-01-12Senate Recommitted (Senado)
6. 2026-01-12Senate Taken from Table (Senado)
7. 2025-04-02Senate Tabled (Senado)
8. 2025-03-28Senate Read Second Time (Senado)

• Joe Campbell (R, HD-171)Patrocinador principal
• Scott Holcomb (D, HD-101)
• Bill Yearta (R, HD-152)
• Steven McNeel (R, SD-018)

1. AprobadaVotación: Cámara de Representantes6 de marzo de 2025

   170 a favor, 2 en contra (4 sin votar, 4 ausentes)

   Passage: House Vote #239

2. AprobadaVotación: Senado27 de marzo de 2026

   26 a favor, 22 en contra (3 sin votar, 3 ausentes)

   Motion To Table Remaining Legislation On The Rules Calendar: Senate Vote #835

• flood disclosure
• real estate transactions
• home buying
• consumer protection
• mechanic's liens