Georgia HOA Compliance
3. Compliance topics grid
1. Introduction
Consider Georgia, where the common-interest community framework splits between the Georgia Property Owners' Association Act, O.C.G.A. §§ 44-3-220 through 44-3-235, for property owners' associations, and the Georgia Condominium Act, O.C.G.A. §§ 44-3-70 through 44-3-117, for condominiums.1,2 The POA Act does not apply automatically: a property owners' development comes under Article 6 only when a recorded declaration or amendment affirmatively elects POA Act treatment.3 Associations outside that election rely on recorded covenants, corporate documents, and, when they incorporate as nonprofit entities, Title 14, Chapter 3 of the Georgia Code.4
Georgia trial courts handle civil HOA disputes, with Superior Courts exercising general civil jurisdiction, and the Georgia Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Georgia handling appellate review.5,6,7 Here is something to note: Georgia has no single state HOA ombudsman or association-governance commission. The Georgia Real Estate Commission handles real-estate licensure, and the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division handles general consumer complaints.8,9
Recent activity concentrates on statutory enforcement, lien, registration, and governance proposals rather than on continuous agency rulemaking.10 Put it all together, and Georgia reads as a covenant-forward state with specific statutory overlays.11
2. Primary statute and key resources
- Georgia Property Owners' Association Act, O.C.G.A. §§ 44-3-220 through 44-3-235. Georgia's planned-community statute for submitted property owners' associations.12
- Georgia Condominium Act, O.C.G.A. §§ 44-3-70 through 44-3-117. This separate article governs condominium creation and association operations.13
- Georgia courts, Superior Courts, Court of Appeals, and Supreme Court. Superior Courts hear general civil matters, the Court of Appeals serves as the intermediate appellate court, and the Supreme Court reviews lower-court decisions within its jurisdiction.14
- Georgia Real Estate Commission. GREC operates as the state real-estate licensing agency, not as a dedicated HOA regulator.15
- Georgia Attorney General Consumer Protection Division. CPD serves as Georgia's primary consumer protection organization and accepts consumer complaints.16
4. Georgia's recent regulatory landscape
Recent Legislation
Georgia's 2024–2026 record runs through three discrete proposals: a new bill of rights with state registration, a clarified POA Act opt-in path, and a 2024 injunctive-relief enforcement law.
SB 406 · 2026 Session
Start with this one. The legislature enrolled SB 406 and sent it to the Governor on Apr. 10, 2026. It would require registration of property owners' associations, provide complaint review and appeal procedures, create a State Board for Review of Complaints Regarding Property Owners' Associations, and amend O.C.G.A. § 44-3-232 on assessments, liens, and foreclosure.[17] The enrolled bill sets a Jan. 1, 2027 effective date for most sections and a July 1, 2026 effective date for Section 7.[18]
| Property managers | Registration and records workflows would need build-out before the effective date if the bill becomes law. |
| HOA board members | Boards would need budget and calendar controls for state registration, complaint responses, and collection policy changes. |
| Community association attorneys | Counsel would need to revise collection, lien, foreclosure, and due-process forms against Title 43 and § 44-3-232 amendments. |
| Homeowners | Owners would gain a state complaint channel and new limits around fees, liens, and foreclosure if the bill becomes law. |
HB 664 · 2026 Session
HB 664 passed the House by substitute on Mar. 3, 2026, and the chamber referred it to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Mar. 4, 2026.[19] The bill would amend the POA Act to specify how an association may submit to Article 6 after creation, including voting, recordation, and notice procedures.[20]
| Property managers | Communities weighing POA Act submission would gain clearer owner-vote, notice, and recording procedures if the bill advances. |
| HOA board members | Boards would need to confirm whether governing documents and owner approvals support a post-creation POA Act election. |
| Community association attorneys | Counsel would need to update opt-in opinions, amendment packages, and county recording instructions. |
| Homeowners | Owners would receive a more defined process before a community changes its statutory status. |
HB 220 · Act 388 · 2024 Session
The Governor signed HB 220 on Apr. 22, 2024 as Act 388, and the law took effect July 1, 2024.[21] The final passage report describes the measure as allowing condominium and homeowners associations to seek injunctive relief for noncompliance with association instruments without first seeking other remedies, and as extending civil enforcement to common-interest associations in planned subdivisions with 15 or more plots.[22]
| Property managers | Covenant-enforcement files should document the violation, governing-document authority, notices, and injunctive-relief decision path. |
| HOA board members | Boards now have a clearer statutory route to seek court orders for noncompliance, subject to governing documents and counsel review. |
| Community association attorneys | Enforcement pleadings can cite the new statutory pathway when seeking injunctions for association-instrument violations. |
| Homeowners | Owners face a clearer risk of court-ordered compliance when violations remain unresolved. |
Recent Court Rulings
Two recent Georgia Court of Appeals decisions sharpen practice for HOAs: one on attorney-fee evidence in assessment actions, and one on discovery defaults in lot-status disputes.
Ellington Homeowners Association, Inc. v. Ibrahim
Here is what the Court of Appeals did. It affirmed denial of attorney fees in a POA Act assessment action because billing records carried rate inconsistencies and unexplained flat fees, leaving insufficient proof that the requested fees were reasonable.[23] HOAs that seek fees in collections must keep billing support that ties tasks, rates, flat fees, and reasonableness evidence together.[24]
| Property managers | Collection packets should preserve invoices, rate details, fee agreements, and board authorization before fee requests reach court. |
| HOA board members | Boards should expect fee recovery to require evidence, not only a governing-document provision. |
| Community association attorneys | Fee affidavits need clean billing records and testimony on reasonableness. |
| Homeowners | Owners may contest fee amounts when the association's proof of reasonableness is incomplete. |
Apple Pie Ridge Homeowners Association, Inc. v. Andrews
The Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment against the association after unanswered requests for admission conclusively established that the lots were not subject to the declaration and not liable for association assessments or fees.[25] The ruling is a litigation reminder: covenant-enforcement claims can fail on civil-procedure defaults even when the association later disputes the substance.[26]
| Property managers | Litigation calendars should track discovery deadlines with the same priority as hearings and payment deadlines. |
| HOA board members | Boards should understand that procedural errors can defeat assessment claims before the merits are reached. |
| Community association attorneys | Discovery-response controls matter in assessment and covenant cases involving lot-status disputes. |
| Homeowners | Owners can use procedural tools to test whether a lot is actually bound by the recorded declaration. |
Regulatory Developments
Georgia's state-agency posture stays indirect — neither GREC nor the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division runs a dedicated HOA oversight program.
Georgia Real Estate Commission and Georgia Attorney General Consumer Protection Division
GREC operates as a state real-estate licensing agency, while the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division serves as the primary consumer protection organization for the state and accepts written consumer complaints.[27][28] Neither agency source identifies a current HOA ombudsman or association-governance commission, which leaves association oversight outside those channels unless SB 406 or a similar measure becomes law.[29]
| Property managers | State licensing compliance stays separate from HOA governance compliance unless a new POA registration system takes effect. |
| HOA board members | Most governance questions still turn on covenants, corporate documents, statutes, and court rulings rather than on agency orders. |
| Community association attorneys | Advice should separate real-estate licensing issues, consumer-protection complaints, and association-governance claims. |
| Homeowners | Owners may have to pursue complaints through internal association processes, civil litigation, or general consumer channels depending on the issue. |
Active Policy Debates
SB 406 stands as the central near-term policy issue, because the legislature sent it to the Governor on Apr. 10, 2026, and Georgia legislative guidance states that unsigned, unvetoed bills become law 40 days after adjournment sine die.30,31 HB 664 and HB 62 show continuing debate over POA Act opt-in procedures, board governance, elections, and annual registration.32,33
5. Closing note
HOA Weekly's Georgia coverage will grow as new bills, appellate rulings, and agency materials affect association governance. Federal frameworks also apply to Georgia associations — including the FHA, the ADA, the FDCPA, the SCRA, and the OTARD rule. Federal coverage will live at /federal/ once we build that section.34,35,36,37,38
Footnotes
- Georgia General Assembly Public Access, Official Code of Georgia Annotated, O.C.G.A. §§ 44-3-220 through 44-3-235 ↩
- Georgia General Assembly Public Access, Official Code of Georgia Annotated, O.C.G.A. §§ 44-3-70 through 44-3-117 ↩
- O.C.G.A. § 44-3-222, affirmative election to submit to Property Owners' Association Act ↩
- Georgia Code, Title 14, Chapter 3, Nonprofit Corporations ↩
- Georgia.gov, Superior Courts of Georgia ↩
- Georgia.gov, Georgia Court of Appeals ↩
- Georgia.gov, Supreme Court of Georgia ↩
- Georgia Real Estate Commission and Appraisers Board ↩
- Georgia Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division ↩
- Georgia General Assembly, SB 406, 2025-2026 regular session ↩
- Georgia General Assembly Public Access, Official Code of Georgia Annotated, O.C.G.A. Title 44, Chapter 3 ↩
- Georgia General Assembly Public Access, O.C.G.A. §§ 44-3-220 through 44-3-235 ↩
- Georgia General Assembly Public Access, O.C.G.A. §§ 44-3-70 through 44-3-117 ↩
- Georgia.gov, Georgia Court of Appeals, with links to appellate court resources ↩
- Georgia Real Estate Commission and Appraisers Board ↩
- Georgia Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division ↩
- Georgia General Assembly, SB 406, 2025-2026 regular session ↩
- Georgia General Assembly, SB 406 enrolled text, effective-date provisions ↩
- Georgia General Assembly, HB 664, 2025-2026 regular session ↩
- Georgia General Assembly, HB 664 bill text ↩
- Georgia General Assembly, HB 220, 2023-2024 regular session ↩
- Georgia Senate Research Office, Final Passage Report 2024, HB 220 ↩
- Ellington Homeowners Association, Inc. v. Ibrahim, No. A25A0707, Georgia Court of Appeals, May 19, 2025 ↩
- Ellington Homeowners Association, Inc. v. Ibrahim, attorney-fee evidence holding ↩
- Apple Pie Ridge Homeowners Association, Inc. v. Andrews, No. A24A0244, Georgia Court of Appeals, May 29, 2024 ↩
- Apple Pie Ridge Homeowners Association, Inc. v. Andrews, requests-for-admission and summary-judgment holding ↩
- Georgia Real Estate Commission and Appraisers Board ↩
- Georgia Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division ↩
- Georgia General Assembly, SB 406, proposed State Board for Review of Complaints Regarding Property Owners' Associations ↩
- Georgia General Assembly, SB 406 status history ↩
- Georgia General Assembly, Office of Legislative Counsel, Legislative Terms Associated with the Georgia General Assembly, governor action after sine die ↩
- Georgia General Assembly, HB 664, 2025-2026 regular session ↩
- Georgia General Assembly, HB 62, Georgia HOA Accountability and Community Empowerment Act, 2025-2026 regular session ↩
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Housing Act overview ↩
- ADA.gov, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended ↩
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation F, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ↩
- U.S. Department of Justice, Servicemembers Civil Relief Act guide ↩
- Federal Communications Commission, Over-the-Air Reception Devices Rule ↩