2026-09-10 · Georgia · Legislation

What happened. The Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act contains one section that has nothing whatever to do with homeowners associations. Section 8 amends O.C.G.A. § 44-7-50 — the landlord-tenant dispossessory statute — to add a new subsection (e) permitting a court to seal eviction records.¹

It takes effect 1 January 2027 with the rest of the Act. Section 9(b) carves out only Section 7 for an earlier date, so the sealing provision arrives on the general effective date.

The provision, verbatim

“A court of competent jurisdiction may, upon the filing of a motion and a hearing thereon, order all records of the court relating to a dispossessory proceeding to be made unavailable to the public when the tenant has prevailed in the proceeding resulting in a judgment in favor of such tenant; has satisfied the judgment in full, including the payment of interest and costs; or seven years have lapsed since the filing of a dismissal or a judgment, provided that the judgment is paid in full with interests and costs. Nothing in this Code section shall prevent the landlord from pursuing all amounts due and owing such landlord in a separate action or through collections.”

What it does and does not do

Three qualifications are built into the text and each narrows it considerably.

It is discretionary and it requires a motion. The court “may” order sealing, “upon the filing of a motion and a hearing thereon.” Nothing happens automatically. A tenant who does not know the provision exists gets nothing from it.

There are three qualifying routes, and two require payment. The tenant prevailed; or the judgment is satisfied in full including interest and costs; or seven years have passed since a dismissal or judgment — and even that third route is conditioned on the judgment being “paid in full with interests and costs.” A tenant with an unpaid judgment does not age into eligibility.

The debt survives sealing. The closing sentence preserves the landlord's right to pursue what is owed “in a separate action or through collections.” This is a record-visibility measure, not a discharge.

Why it matters in Georgia

Eviction-record sealing is a housing-policy measure that tenant advocates have pushed in many states, and one that has repeatedly failed as standalone legislation. Its significance in Georgia is about who is affected: the state's dispossessory filings dwarf the number of homeowners in association disputes, and a filing appears on a tenant screening report whether or not the tenant won.

That is the asymmetry the provision addresses. A Georgia tenant who defeated an eviction has, until now, carried the same public record as one who was evicted.

1. Senate Bill 406, as passed (26 LC 49 2879S) — signed copy, Office of the Governor ↩
2. Summary of General Statutes Enacted at the 2026 Session, Office of Legislative Counsel (Act 715; SB 406) ↩