2026-09-10 · Georgia · Legislation · Did not pass

What happened. Georgia's 2026 session contained not one but two bills letting the owners in a community abolish their association. They came from different parties, took different routes, went to different committees — and neither received a recorded committee vote before dying at sine die on 2 April 2026.

HB 1036: dissolution by referendum

The “Property Rights Through the Ballot Act” would have created a binding community referendum. A petition signed by at least 20% of eligible owner-occupants triggers a community-wide vote; a majority dissolves the association within 180 days.

On dissolution the governing documents become void and outstanding association liens convert to unsecured debts. The bill also barred association foreclosure on owner-occupied homes, mandated open meetings, financial audits and fiduciary duties, addressed the transition of shared infrastructure, and prohibited retaliation against owners who took part in a referendum.¹

Six Democratic sponsors: Sandra Scott (Rex), Viola Davis (Stone Mountain), Kim Schofield (Atlanta), Rhonda Taylor (Conyers), Sylvia Wayfer Baker (Douglasville) and Imani Barnes (Tucker).

Referred to House Judiciary; read first time 28 January 2026, second time 29 January 2026. Never reported.²

HB 1219: dissolution through the courts

The second bill approached the same end far more carefully, and it carried Republican names.

HB 1219 would have required every property owners' association formed on or after 1 July 2026 to be automatically subject to the Georgia Property Owners' Association Act, and required existing associations to vote on whether to adopt the Act. Then it created a full statutory termination process:

• petition by at least 20% of members;
• a member vote on a termination plan;
• court approval of that plan;
• appointment of a termination trustee — normally the sitting board — to manage assets, settle debts and distribute the remainder to members; and
• penalties for officers and directors who obstruct the process.

Sponsors: Gerald Greene (R-Cuthbert), Alan Powell (R), Carolyn Hugley (D), Regina Lewis-Ward (D), Billy Mitchell (D) and David Wilkerson (D).

Referred to House Regulated Industries; read first time 6 February 2026, second time 9 February 2026. A committee hearing is recorded on 17 February 2026, but the official composite shows no favourable report.

The through-line

Two dissolution bills, one with Republican sponsorship including a senior member, and neither got a recorded committee vote in a session where HOA reform passed 155-10. That is the shape of the opposition: not a floor defeat, but a decision not to hold the vote.

1. “Georgia reps introduce bills to stop HOA foreclosures, allow homeowners to dissolve an HOA” — Atlanta News First, 28 January 2026 ↩
2. 2026 Composite Status Report, Session Final, Georgia House of Representatives (14 May 2026) ↩
3. Boaz v. Thirteen Hundred on Lake Nottely Property Owners Association, Inc., No. A26A0455 (Ga. Ct. App. 16 June 2026) — slip opinion ↩