The Georgia Property Owners’ Bill of Rights Act (Senate Bill 406) was signed into law by Governor Brian Kemp on May 12, 2026. It institutes the state’s first universal homeowner and condominium association rules to protect residents from predatory fines, unfair attorney fees, and unwarranted foreclosures, mostly going into effect on January 1, 2027. The sweeping overhaul targets all mandatory-membership residential communities in the state to ensure broad, statewide transparency and consumer protections.

What This Means for Homeowners and Condominium Associations

• State Registration & Oversight: The Association must register annually with the Georgia Secretary of State. If the Association does not register, it will not be permitted to collect fines, issue assessments, or file liens/foreclosures.
• State Dispute Resolution: The law creates an administrative process for homeowners to file complaints directly with the Secretary of State, reducing the need for costly court battles. Currently, the Association, through its Board of Directors, is the judge, jury, and executioner when it comes to hearings and decisions of violations and fines without impartial arbitrators. That typically results in the homeowner submitting to the Board’s will or commencing an expensive lawsuit that can drain the Association’s funds or its insurance carrier, with the possibility of the insurance carrier dropping the Association due to massive expenditures. This provision should lead to much less expensive resolution/settlements.
• Increased Foreclosure Thresholds: It doubles the minimum unpaid dues required before an HOA can initiate foreclosure proceedings from $2,000 to $4,000, and excludes fines or fees from that total.
• Payment Transparency: Payments are prioritized—they must be applied to regular dues first before special assessments, specific assessments, or fines. Currently, the Association can take your monthly assessment and put it against any fine, special assessment, or specific special assessment – without warning or communication.
• Attorney Fee Limits: HOAs cannot charge attorney fees without giving homeowners prior written notice and an itemized list of charges. This provision goes into effect July 1, 2026.

Impact on Condominium Owners

Dispute Resolution: Condo unit owners gain access to the new state-level administrative complaint process. Filing an official complaint triggers an automatic hold on the collection of disputed fines or fees while a state-appointed hearing officer reviews the case.

Financial Priority & Restrictions: Condo associations must follow the exact same payment hierarchy—applying owner payments to standard monthly dues first. They are also barred from charging “accelerated assessments” (forcing future dues forward because a current payment was missed).

Phase 1 Details: Attorney Fee Restrictions (Effective July 1, 2026)

Effective July 1, 2026, associations can no longer automatically pass debt collection or covenant enforcement attorney fees directly onto a resident’s ledger. To charge a homeowner or condo owner for legal fees, the board must strictly adhere to the following sequence:

1. Provide Clear Written Notice: Send a formal notification detailing the exact covenant violation or outstanding assessment before incurring major legal costs.
2. Offer a 30-Day Cure Period: Give the property owner exactly 30 days to pay the outstanding balance or fix the violation.
3. Deliver an Itemized Invoice: If the owner does not comply and a lawyer is retained, the board must provide the owner with a detailed, itemized list of the reasonable attorney fees claimed.
4. Obtain Judicial Approval: Before a lien can reflect these fees, a judge must formally review and rule on the “reasonableness” of the legal charges.

Phase 2: Mandatory State Registration (Deadline: January 1, 2027)

Effective January 1, 2027, all associations must maintain an active annual registration with the Georgia Secretary of State. Failing to register strips the board of its legal enforcement powers—meaning an unregistered condo or HOA board cannot collect fines, issue assessments, file property liens, or initiate a foreclosure.

Board Preparation

To prevent a lapse in legal enforcement authority, boards should execute these steps sequentially:

1. Gather Financial Disclosures: Compile the past year’s comprehensive financial statements and balance sheets to upload to the state portal.
2. Consolidate Governing Documents: Organize all master deeds, bylaws, covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs) into easily accessible digital formats.
3. Implement a 10-Year Archiving System: Update data storage policies to maintain all history related to fines, fees, assessments, liens, and foreclosures for a minimum of 10 years.
4. Adopt the Mandated Payment Priority Hierarchy: ensure that owner payments are legally applied in this exact order: Regular assessments first, then special assessments, then specific assessments, and lastly, general fees and fines.
5. Audit Current Foreclosure Files: Verify that any active foreclosure actions meet the new legal threshold—arrears must be at least $4,000 (or 12 months of regular dues), and must completely exclude any accumulated fines or legal fees.

How the Fine Collection Freeze Works

Under the Georgia Property Owners’ Bill of Rights Act (SB 406), the mechanism that halts fine collections is known as an automatic stay. This feature removes the sole power of dispute resolution from the board’s hands, leveling the playing field for homeowners and condo residents.

1. The Trigger: If a resident believes an association’s action or fine is unfair, they have 180 days from the incident to file a formal written complaint with the Georgia Secretary of State.
2. The Automatic Stay: The exact moment the complaint is filed, a legal freeze is placed on those specific charges. The association is completely prohibited from collecting or attempting to collect the disputed fines or fees while the case is open.
3. No Retaliatory Fees: During this freeze, the board cannot accumulate late fees, interest, or penalties on the contested amount.
4. Duration: The collection freeze remains actively in place through the entire investigation and until a final decision is issued by a state-appointed hearing officer.

The State Hearing Process

Once the freeze is in effect, the state handles the dispute through a structured framework:

1. Investigation: A state hearing officer reviews the complaint, logs the association’s documentation, and determines if a violation of rights occurred. Under the Georgia Property Owners’ Bill of Rights Act (SB 406), a valid condo resident complaint is any claim that a resident has been “damaged by an association’s action or inaction” that violates state law or the community’s own bylaws.
2. Administrative Hearing: If needed, the officer holds an official hearing.
3. Ruling & 15-Day Window: The officer issues official findings and conclusions. Both parties are then given 15 days to comply with the ruling or settle the matter.
4. Financial Accountability: To deter frivolous claims from either side, the losing party (non-prevailing party) must pay a $100 administrative fee to the state.
5. Right to Appeal: If either party disagrees with the state officer’s ruling, they have 20 days to appeal the decision in a local magistrate or superior court.

Explicit Grounds for Filing a Valid Complaint

Violation of Procedural Due Process

1. Lack of Rule Authority: The board issues a fine for something that is not officially written or permitted in the association’s recorded master deeds or bylaws.
2. Inconsistent Enforcement: The board enforces rules selectively or discriminates by targeting specific residents while ignoring identical issues on neighboring properties.
3. Failure to Provide Notice: The board issues fines, fees, or legal penalties without sending the legally mandated prior written notice or granting the necessary cure periods.

Violations of Financial Transparency

1. Illegal Payment Application: The board or its management company refuses to apply a payment to regular monthly dues first, attempting instead to clear fine balances to keep an owner in delinquency.
2. Refusing Partial Payments: The board rejects an owner’s partial payment on outstanding assessments.
3. Withholding Financial Records: The board fails to provide an owner access to the mandatory three years of historical financial disclosures or 10 years of archived assessment history.

Unlawful Forensic & Lien Practices

1. Improper Attorney Fees: The board attaches attorney fees to an owner’s ledger without sending a 30-day cure notice, an itemized legal invoice, or securing the mandatory judicial approval first.
2. Premature Foreclosure Filings: The association files for foreclosure when the total delinquency is under $4,000, or attempts to hit that $4,000 threshold by counting fines, late fees, and legal interest rather than purely unpaid baseline assessments.

Overstepping Association Governance Rules

1. Unregistered Enforcement: The board attempts to issue a fine or assessment while failing to maintain an active, annual registration with the Georgia Secretary of State.
2. Denying Meeting Access: The board bars a deed-holding property owner from attending open community meetings or inspecting community insurance information.

Association Requirements

To legally issue a fine, covenant violation, or debt collection action under the new Georgia law, an association’s written notice must follow a strict, multi-step structural framework. Failing to include any of these mandated elements immediately invalidates the notice and gives the resident grounds to file a state complaint to freeze all collection efforts.

1. Mandatory Structural Elements for All Notices

Every violation or collection letter sent by a board or management company must explicitly contain:

• The Exact Rule Violated: A direct citation of the specific section, page, or paragraph number from the recorded bylaws, covenants (CC&Rs), or master deed.
• Granular Evidence: Clear, itemized factual details of the alleged infraction, including the exact date, time, and location it occurred.
• The 30-Day Cure Period: A precise, dated deadline giving the resident exactly 30 days from the receipt of the letter to fix the issue or pay the baseline amount before any penalties or fees can accrue.
• The Resident’s Right to a Hearing: Clear instructions detailing exactly how the owner can request an official hearing before the board to dispute the claim.

2. Required Structure for Debt Collection & Attorney Fee Notices

If the notice involves unpaid dues and the board intends to pass legal fees onto the owner, the notice must follow this exact sequence:

• Baseline Dues Isolation: A clear breakout showing only the unpaid regular or special assessments. It must completely exclude fines, late fees, and interest from this subtotal.
• Prior Notice Declaration: A statement confirming that no attorney fees have yet been added to the owner’s account ledger for this matter.
• The Itemized Legal Warning: A explicit warning stating that if the balance is not cleared within 30 days, the owner will receive an itemized legal invoice that must be approved by a judge before a lien can be recorded.

3. Required Structure for Covenant Violations (e.g., Property Maintenance)

For structural, architectural, or property maintenance violations, the notice structure must include:

• Clear Remediation Steps: An exact, step-by-step description of what the owner must do to bring the property into compliance (e.g., specific paint colors, tree removal guidelines).
• The Fine Cap Notice: An explicit statement of the exact daily or flat fine amount that will begin on day 31 if the violation is not cured, proving it aligns with the caps outlined in the community’s bylaws.