2026-09-10 · Georgia · Compliance · Pending — not yet law

What is happening. A DeKalb County couple are fighting a homeowners association foreclosure that began over roughly $8,000 in dues and now stands at about $20,000 once attorney's fees are added. A judge postponed ruling on 24 August 2026 to review the case, and the next court date is 23 September 2026.¹

This is a live matter. Nothing below is a prediction of the outcome, and the position may have changed by the time you read it.

The facts as reported

Tatiana Pimentel and Obren Cicmil are contesting foreclosure by the Whitehall Forest East Condominium Association. Pimentel bought her first home in 2024 with her life savings. The association filed for foreclosure in October 2025 over undisclosed dues.

They are represented free of charge by Candace Sneed through DeKalb Pro Bono, who told Atlanta News First: “I can't watch a homeowner lose their property without their day in court.” Pimentel's title insurer is reported to be contributing $9,600 toward resolution.

The governance allegation

The sharp point is not the money. Residents say association president Dean Heard is self-appointed — never formally elected or registered — having been vice-president when the previous president was removed.

That is precisely the defect Georgia's new registration regime is designed to surface. From 1 January 2027, O.C.G.A. § 43-17A-2(a)(3) requires an association's registration statement to identify “[t]he name, address, and officers of the owners' association,” and § 43-17A-2(d) requires an amended filing within 30 days of any change in officers.²

An association whose president cannot be traced to an election would, from January, be filing that fact with the state annually.

Why the new law cannot help them

Because it is not retroactive, and because of the calendar.

Chapter 43-17A takes effect on 1 January 2027. The complaint mechanism at § 43-17A-5 — with its automatic stay on collecting disputed fines and fees — does not exist yet. A hearing in September 2026 is a hearing under the law as it stood before Act 715.

The one part of the Act already in force does not obviously reach this either. Section 7 — requiring certified-mail notice, 30 days from receipt to pay, and an itemised list of attorney's fees before an association may collect or be awarded them — took effect 1 July 2026 and applies “to all actions filed on or after such date.” This action was filed in October 2025.

The selective-enforcement question

Reporting notes the association carries $5.1 million in unpaid water bills, and that only three or four of roughly 100 properties have faced liens or foreclosure since July 2025.

1. “Couple fights back in court to save first home from $20K HOA foreclosure” — Atlanta News First, 26 August 2026 ↩
2. Senate Bill 406, as passed (26 LC 49 2879S) — signed copy, Office of the Governor ↩
3. O.C.G.A. 44-3-235 — applicability of the Property Owners' Association Act, including the condominium exclusion at (b) ↩
4. Hale v. ASBM Investments, LLC, No. A25A1209 (Ga. Ct. App. 31 Oct. 2025) — slip opinion ↩
5. Boaz v. Thirteen Hundred on Lake Nottely Property Owners Association, Inc., No. A26A0455 (Ga. Ct. App. 16 June 2026) — slip opinion ↩