Executive Summary - GA Senate Bill 406
©2026 Cobb, Olson & Andrle LLC
1. Separate GaSOS Registration; Limitations on Fines/Fees/Liens/Foreclosure (effective 1/1/2027)
If any Georgia homeowners’ association (common law HOA, Condo, or POA) wants to collect “fines or fees”, record liens or initiate foreclosure, SB 406 requires a second registration for that HOA with the Georgia Secretary of State (“GaSOS”) to become a “registered owners association.” This dual registration process includes an extra $100 fee, and requires the HOA to provide last year’s financial statements and identify officers and directors by name, address, and position. Registration allows heightened GaSOS review of finances, records, and subpoena power; the GaSOS can limit fines or fees; can revoke or deny an HOA’s registration; and even bar persons from serving on the Board. Registered HOAs must maintain their records for 10 years and designate where they are kept.
If your association doesn’t dual-register, it cannot collect any “fines or fees,” or place liens or foreclose, and will be limited to collecting assessments only (but they can apply payments in covenantal order and accelerate assessments if the covenants so allow; see below).
Cobb, Olson & Andrle believes that all HOAs should dual-register with the GaSOS and begin preparing now for yearly required financial reports, governing-document uploads, and the added registration fee. The benefits of dual-registration outweigh the added burdens, in our view.
2. GaSOS Complaint System Created (effective 1/1/2027)
Any homeowner in any common law HOA, Condo, or POA, registered or not, can now file a complaint with the GaSOS for any “action or inaction” within 180 days of the HOA’s alleged action/inaction. A “hearing officer” is assigned to investigate the complaint and may order a hearing, then issue a ruling. No time limit on the GaSOS investigation is placed.
Filing a complaint imposes an automatic stay against the HOA from collecting or attempting to collect any fines or fees that are the subject of the complaint, while the complaint is pending.
Anyone dissatisfied with the Hearing Officer’s ruling can appeal it and the case goes up into the court system (usually Magistrate Court). Further appeals from Magistrate Court are possible.
Cobb, Olson & Andrle believes that all HOAs should begin preparing now for the GaSOS complaint process by (a) ensuring you have legal representation in any such complaint filed (i.e., don’t DIY an adversarial state-agency complaint); and (b) amending budgets/increasing dues now for the added legal expenses that will ensue.
We fully anticipate that the GaSOS will be flooded with complaints against HOAs on and after January 1, 2027 - homeowner advocacy groups are already holding “training sessions” for homeowners on how to file them.
3. Order of Application of Payments; No Dues Acceleration or Partial Payment Rejection (effective 1/1/2027)
Any “registered owners association” must apply all homeowner payments received in this order, irrespective of what the covenants require:
Regular assessments/dues;
Special assessments;
Specific assessments;
Other “fees and fines.”
Additionally, any “registered owners association” must also discontinue accelerating dues upon delinquency and can no longer refuse to accept payment from an owner in any amount for any assessment, irrespective of what the covenants allow.
Cobb, Olson & Andrle believes that all dual-registered HOAs should begin communicating now with their property management companies (or their accounting software/personnel if self-managed) to change the order of application of payments received, and discontinue any prior practice of refusing partial payments or accelerating dues during delinquency, to conform to SB406.
4. Expanded Right to Inspect/Demand Records (effective 1/1/2027)
Any owner in any HOA (common law HOA, Condo, or POA, registered or not) has an expanded right to inspect and demand association records including “accounting records” defined as (1) the finalized balance sheet, (2) annual budget, (3) profit and loss statements, and (4) bank statements for the past three years. Owners can also request a copy of the association’s certificate of insurance (“COI”) for coverage that may apply to a potential or submitted claim. Other enumerated rights in SB406 basically track existing law and/or covenant requirements.
Cobb, Olson & Andrle believes that all HOAs should begin preparing and uploading into a homeowner-facing portal or website, all the “accounting records” required by SB406 including bank statements (redacted to remove routing numbers and account numbers) and Certificates of Insurance, free of charge to the homeowner. If your HOA does not normally prepare balance sheets, profit and loss statements, etc., then we believe that HOA should immediately begin doing so and getting in the habit of preparing them going forward. We also believe that all Board meetings, deliberations and actions especially those decisions made “outside a meeting” (such as email/phone/text) be specifically memorialized into Board minutes that are uploaded for homeowner review.
Any failure to do so can and likely will be the subject of a GaSOS complaint filed by homeowners.
5. Limits on POA Foreclosure Rights; Expanded Lien Period (effective 1/1/2027)
Foreclosures now are more difficult for POA communities (this is not applicable to Condos or common-law HOAs, as neither OCGA § 44-3-70 nor OCGA § 44-5-60 were so amended). The statutory minimum for foreclosure is raised to the lesser of $4000 or 12 months of assessments (but must be at least $2000), and can only include regular assessments, late charges, and interest, but not special assessments or any fines or fees. Homeowners now get 60 days’ notice of an intended foreclosure (double the present 30-day notice period). The “lien for assessments” in a POA community now expires after 6 years (formerly 4 years).
Cobb, Olson & Andrle believes that all POAs should consider fast-tracking any delinquent files with a $2000+ balance to file a foreclosure action before 1/1/2027 to take advantage of the lower monetary threshold for filing and shorter timeframe for required notice.
After 1/1/2027, it will be more difficult for POAs to use this foreclosure remedy to induce homeowners to pay.
6. Limitations on POA Attorney’s Fees, Outstanding Fines and Delinquent Fees (effective 7/1/2026)
Before a POA can collect or be awarded attorney’s fees, it must itemize its claimed attorneys’ fees, and identify “any outstanding fines or delinquent fees” to a homeowner by certified mailing, and give the homeowner 30 days to pay them. If in court, a judge must make a finding of reasonableness of the attorney’s fees first, before an award is made to the POA. (This is not applicable to Condos or common-law HOAs, as neither OCGA § 44-3-70 nor OCGA § 44-5-60 were so amended).
Cobb, Olson & Andrle believes that all POAs should immediately place all incurred attorney’s fees, and other “outstanding fines and delinquent fees” onto the homeowner’s ledger immediately when incurred, and amend their initial late letter processes (whether done by management company, collection agency, or by the POA if self-managed) to include the ledgers evidencing all incurred fees and fines, as the “itemized list” required by SB406.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
***DISCLAIMER: The information provided in this post does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice. Instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational and educational purposes only. Information in this post may not constitute the most up-to-date legal information. Readers of this post should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular or specific legal matter. Use of and access to this post, this site, or any of the links contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship.***