SB 166: Counties; ordinances for governing and policing unincorporated areas of counties; revise provisions

Current Georgia law caps county ordinance penalties at a $1,000 fine or up to 60 days of imprisonment, and generally bars local governments from requiring registration of residential rental property. This bill changes both. It replaces the word 'imprisonment' with 'confinement' in the county ordinance statute (O.C.G.A. § 36-1-20) and creates a new section (O.C.G.A. § 36-60-33) letting counties and municipalities set higher fines, up to $15,000, for repeat violations of codes covering zoning, subdivision rules, litter, junked vehicles, and overgrown vegetation, though homesteaded properties and small landlords with fewer than ten properties are exempt. The bill also amends the local code enforcement chapter (O.C.G.A. § 36-74-30) so a local government can require rental registration if the owner has ten or more single-family or duplex rentals in the same county. A new violation is added to the Fair Business Practices Act (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393) targeting owners who use multiple LLCs or corporate names to dodge that registration requirement.

• Replaces 'imprisonment' with 'confinement' as the penalty term in the law authorizing county ordinances for unincorporated areas.
• Creates a new escalating fine schedule for repeat violations of health and safety codes, from $3,000 for a second offense up to $15,000 for a fifth or later offense.
• Exempts homesteaded properties and owners with fewer than ten rental properties in a county from the enhanced repeat-violation fines.
• Allows local governments to require rental property registration if an owner has ten or more single-family or duplex rentals in that county, reversing the current general ban on such registration.
• Adds a new violation to the Fair Business Practices Act (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393) for landlords who use multiple LLC or corporate names to dodge rental registration requirements.

County and municipal governments that enforce codes and ordinances, owners of rental and other real property, particularly landlords with ten or more single-family or duplex rentals in a county, homeowners with a homestead exemption, and small landlords who fall below that ten-property threshold.

Local governments would gain a tool to impose much larger fines, up to $15,000, on repeat code violators, and could start requiring larger-scale landlords to register their rental properties, while homeowners and small landlords stay shielded from the tougher penalties and registration rules.

• Section 1 adds a new violation to the Fair Business Practices Act (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393) for attempts to avoid rental property registration using multiple business names.
• Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 36-1-20, changing 'imprisonment' to 'confinement' and adding a cross-reference exception to the new enhanced penalty section.
• Section 3 creates O.C.G.A. § 36-60-33, defining covered 'county or municipal codes or ordinances' and setting fine tiers: $3,000 for a second violation, $5,000 for a third, $10,000 for a fourth, and $15,000 for a fifth or later violation.
• Section 3 also exempts homesteaded properties and owners of fewer than ten single-family or duplex properties in the same county from these enhanced fines.
• Section 4 amends O.C.G.A. § 36-74-30 to let local governments require rental registration for owners with ten or more single-family or duplex properties in the same county.
• Section 4 also adds a new subsection making attempted avoidance of registration through multiple LLC or corporate names a violation tied to the Fair Business Practices Act.
• Section 5 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2026-02-09Senate Read Second Time (Senado)
2. 2026-02-06Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senado)
3. 2026-01-27Senate Withdrawn & Recommitted (Senado)
4. 2025-02-13Senate Read and Referred (Senado)
5. 2025-02-12Senate Hopper (Senado)

• Nikki Merritt (D, SD-009)Patrocinador principal
• RaShaun Kemp (D, SD-038)
• Sonya Halpern (D, SD-039)
• Harold Jones (D, SD-022)
• Kenya Wicks (D, SD-034)
• Nabilah Islam Parkes (D, SD-007)
• Michael Rhett (D, SD-033)
• Kim Jackson (D, SD-041)
• Donzella James (D, SD-028)
• Elena Parent (D, SD-044)
• Sally Harrell (D, SD-040)
• Nan Orrock (D, SD-036)
• Freddie Sims (D, SD-012)
• Sheikh Rahman (D, SD-005)
• Gail Davenport (D, SD-017)

• local ordinances
• code enforcement
• rental property registration
• county government
• property fines