What does Georgia's 2026 HOA law, SB 406, require of volunteer boards?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised October 26, 2026

Georgia's 2026 HOA law for boards: Secretary of State registration from January 2027, the $100 fee, owner complaints, payment order rules and new lien steps.

Part of the HOA board handbook: new state laws for boards.

The short answer

Senate Bill 406, the Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act, passed the General Assembly on March 31, 2026 and Governor Kemp signed it on May 12, 2026. It creates a new Chapter 17A in Title 43 of the Georgia Code and changes the lien rules in the Property Owners' Association Act. The job that lands on every board is registration. Starting January 1, 2027, an association has to register with the Secretary of State, pay $100, and renew every year by December 31. An association that is not registered may not collect fines or fees, file or record liens, or start foreclosure. The Secretary of State published proposed rules for the program in October 2026, with written comments due November 2, 2026. Rules vary with your governing documents, and the final regulations may change details, so treat this guide as education for board members, not legal advice.

Which associations are covered

The definition in new O.C.G.A. 43-17A-1 is broad. It covers any nongovernmental association of owners of residential property in a defined area under recorded covenants, and names neighborhoods, condominium developments, common interest communities and groups of homeowners, including associations formed under the Condominium Act and the Property Owners' Association Act. A 30-home subdivision with a declaration and a volunteer board is in. So is a condo building. There is one way out. Under 43-17A-2(a)(2)(B), an association may send the Secretary of State written notice that it elects not to register. It then becomes a nonregistered owners' association, and it may not assess or collect fines, fees or accelerated assessments against any owner. The act does not say plainly what else a nonregistered association can or cannot do about liens, so a board weighing that choice should get the attorney's view in writing first. The Secretary of State's FAQ also makes a point boards miss: the annual filing with the Corporations Division is separate. It does not register the association under the new law.

What registration takes and what it costs

Section 43-17A-2 lists the pieces. The association files a registration statement on the Secretary of State's form, signed by an authorized officer, with a copy of its governing documents. The act defines those as the declaration, bylaws, articles of incorporation and any board rules. The statement must give the association's name, address and officers, and must include a financial statement dated no more than one year before filing. The association may operate as soon as the statement is filed, unless the Secretary of State later finds grounds to deny it. The fee is $100 for the first filing and $100 for each renewal. Every registration expires December 31, and the renewal goes in by that date. If the name, address, officers or anything else that materially affects control of the association changes, the board has 30 days to file an amendment. That catches boards after elections. A board that seats new officers at a February annual meeting has an amended filing due in March. The Secretary of State's FAQ says registration opens on January 1, 2027 through an online portal, with details to follow.

Records, oversight and owner complaints

Section 43-17A-2(g) requires the association to keep all records about assessments, fines, fees, liens and foreclosures for at least ten years, paper or electronic, at an office in Georgia or at its principal office, and to tell the Secretary of State where they are kept. Under 43-17A-3, it may deny, suspend or revoke a registration, limit the fines or fees an association collects, or bar an officer or director, for reasons that include an incomplete or misleading application, willful violation of the chapter, an unpaid fee left more than 30 days after a deficiency notice, or ignoring a subpoena. Owners get a new forum in 43-17A-5. A person living in the community who claims harm from the association's action or inaction may file a written complaint within 180 days. A hearing officer investigates and may hold a hearing, and the parties then have 15 days to comply with the conclusions. Filing the complaint automatically stays collection of any fines or fees that are its subject, until the hearing officer rules, with a possible 15-day extension. The losing side pays a $100 fee, and either side may appeal within 20 days to magistrate court for claims under $15,000 or to superior court above that. The Secretary of State accepts complaints now but says it will not act on them before January 1, 2027. Our guide on HOA recordkeeping and document retention covers how to organize the files.

Payments, partial payments and the owner rights list

Section 43-17A-8 fixes the order in which an owner's money is applied: regular assessments until current, then special assessments, then specific assessments, then other fees and fines. Specific assessments are charges for damage the owner caused and fees or fines for late payment, short payment or a covenant violation. The same section bars an association from refusing a payment of any amount toward an assessment and from charging accelerated assessments, meaning future dues declared due early. If your declaration has an acceleration clause or your manager rejects partial payments, plan to stop by January 1, 2027, and have the treasurer confirm the ledger posts payments in the statutory order. Section 43-17A-7 lists owner rights. Two of them create work for the treasurer. On written demand, owners may inspect and copy the finalized balance sheet, budget, profit and loss statements and bank statements for the past three years, and may get the association's certificate of insurance for coverage that may apply to their claim. The list also calls for a members' meeting at least once a year and for directors to disclose conflicting interests to the rest of the board.

New lien, foreclosure and attorney fee rules

These changes amend O.C.G.A. 44-3-232 and 44-3-235, part of the Property Owners' Association Act. They reach associations that have submitted to that act, not condominiums under the Condominium Act. The notice before foreclosing a lien grows from 30 days to 60, sent by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, and payment before the 60th day ends the right to foreclose. The minimum lien for foreclosure rises from $2,000 to the lesser of $4,000 or 12 months of regular assessments, and never below $2,000, and fines, fees and specific assessments no longer count toward it. A lien lapses six years after the assessment came due, up from four. The act also lets an association with mandatory membership submit to the Property Owners' Association Act by an 80 percent vote and a recorded certificate of that vote. If it does, declaration clauses that need more than 80 percent to amend drop to 80 percent unless, by the first anniversary, a majority votes to keep them. A new attorney fee rule says that, outside emergencies, an association may not collect or be awarded attorney's fees until it has sent certified mail or statutory overnight notice of the outstanding fines or delinquent fees, given the owner 30 days from receipt to pay, and provided an itemized list of the fees claimed. In a bench trial the judge must rule on whether the fees were reasonable. One timing point needs care. Section 9 of the act makes the attorney fee rule effective July 1, 2026 for actions filed on or after that date and everything else January 1, 2027. The Secretary of State's FAQ lists the foreclosure and amendment voting changes under July 1, 2026. Ask counsel which date applies to a pending file. Until then, following the 60-day notice and higher threshold costs little. Our past-due dues timeline for boards shows where these steps fit.

The board's to-do list

Before November 2, 2026: read proposed Rules 590-13 on the Secretary of State's HOA rules page and send any comments to [email protected]. Hearings are set for November 4 and 5. Now, for any Property Owners' Association Act community: run every collection file through the certified notice, the 30 days and an itemized fee list before suing. By December 2026: gather the declaration, bylaws, articles and rules into one complete set, get a financial statement that will be less than a year old on the filing date, decide which officer signs, and add $100 for registration to the 2027 budget. Have the treasurer confirm the payment order and remove any acceleration step from the collection policy. Set a ten-year retention period for assessment, fine, fee, lien and foreclosure records. In January 2027: file through the portal, and hold fine collection, lien filings and foreclosure referrals until the filing is in. After every election or change of address: amend within 30 days. Each December: renew before December 31. A motion the board can adopt: "Moved that the board authorize the secretary to file the association's registration statement with the Georgia Secretary of State under O.C.G.A. 43-17A-2 on or after January 1, 2027, pay the $100 filing fee, renew the registration each year before December 31, and file an amended statement within 30 days after any change in officers or address."

Common misreadings

"Our corporation is active with the state, so we are registered." No. The Corporations Division filing and the owners' association registration are separate filings. "Condos are exempt." The definition names condominium developments, so condo associations register too, even though the lien changes in Title 44 apply to Property Owners' Association Act communities. "We can opt out and carry on as before." An association that opts out loses the power to collect fines, fees and accelerated assessments. "An owner's complaint changes nothing until the hearing." Filing it stops collection of the disputed fines or fees right away. "The final rules are out." As of late October 2026 they are proposed, and portal details are still to come, so check the Secretary of State's pages again in December before filing.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

More on board & governance

Or browse all hoa boards & governance guides.