04/01/2026
Copied: BREAKING NEWS!!!
Big Changes for Homeowners with HOAs
🥳🥳🥳 SB 406 HAS PASSED. GEORGIA JUST MADE HISTORY.
With one day left in the 2026 Georgia legislative session, the Senate voted 51-0 last night to concur with the House, sending the Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act to Governor Kemp's desk. The House had already passed it 155-10. This is the most comprehensive HOA oversight legislation this state has ever seen, and it passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. (There is still work to be done!)
For the 2.3 million Georgians living under community association governance, everything just changed.
Here is what this law ⚖️ means for you:
Registration and Accountability
✅ Every HOA must register annually with the Georgia Secretary of State and submit financial statements
✅ The annual registration fee is $100 per association, that is just $2.00 per unit per year for a 50-unit community. For that $2.00, your association is accountable to the state
✅ If an HOA is not registered, it cannot collect fines or fees, file a lien, or pursue foreclosure
✅ The Secretary of State can deny, suspend, or revoke registration and bar bad actors from serving on boards
A Real Place to Take Your Complaint
✅ Homeowners can file complaints directly with the Secretary of State
✅ A hearing officer is appointed to investigate, and the process is accessible without expensive litigation
✅ Filing a complaint triggers an automatic stay stopping the HOA from collecting the disputed fines or fees while the case is heard
Foreclosure Protections
✅ The foreclosure threshold rises from $2,000 to $4,000, and fines and fees cannot count toward that threshold, only unpaid assessments
✅ HOAs must give advance written notice stating clearly that paying eliminates the right of foreclosure
✅ Homeowners have the right to a stay of foreclosure proceedings while a complaint is pending
Payment Application
✅ HOAs must apply your payments in a mandatory order: regular assessments first, then special assessments, then specific assessments, then fees and fines
✅ HOAs cannot refuse to accept your payment in any amount for any assessment
✅ HOAs cannot accelerate assessments against any owner, meaning they cannot pull future assessments forward to inflate your current balance and manufacture foreclosure-eligible debt
Attorney's Fees Guardrails
✅ Before an HOA can collect or be awarded attorney's fees, it must send written certified notice and give 30 days to pay
✅ Judges must review attorney's fees for reasonableness before any award is entered
Your Rights in Writing, for the First Time
✅ Georgia law now explicitly enumerates homeowner rights, including the right to attend meetings, inspect records, receive proper notice, and expect board members to perform their duties in good faith
When Does This Take Effect?
The attorney's fees protections take effect July 1, 2026. All remaining provisions take effect January 1, 2027.
This did not happen by accident. It happened because homeowners showed up, testified, documented violations, filed lawsuits, and refused to be silenced. To every person who shared their story or made a phone call to their legislator, this is yours.
Now we watch Governor Brian Kemp... 📃🖋 ...Sign it.
