Underneath present Georgia legislation, an HOA might file to foreclose when a home-owner owes greater than $2,000. Fines usually stem from violations resembling not strain washing a house, leaning mailboxes, light shutters or grass deemed too lengthy.
Georgia has no complete statewide oversight of HOAs and no company tasked with regulating them, the report defined.
“I don’t know the way lawmakers can bury their head within the sand when individuals are hurting,” Schofield instructed WRDW. “Once we get the quantity of calls and emails which have been spiraling down right here, it’s time for different lawmakers to step up.”
One proposal is H.B. 1036, the Property Rights By the Poll Act. It might enable homeowners to vote on dissolving their HOA if 20% of residents signal a petition, with a easy majority deciding the result.
The invoice would additionally eradicate an HOA’s energy to foreclose, changing unpaid assessments into abnormal debt that could possibly be pursued by lawsuits however not liens on a house.
It might require open conferences and entry to monetary information whereas barring retaliation in opposition to owners who assist a dissolution vote.
The second measure is H.B. 1035, the Georgia Homeownership Safety Act of 2026, which might apply broadly to all owners. It might prohibit foreclosures for unpaid utility payments, HOA charges or different non-tax money owed. Solely unpaid property taxes or mortgage defaults might result in foreclosures.
Owners might sue over wrongful gross sales and recuperate damages, penalties and attorneys’ charges. The state legal professional normal might fantastic violators as much as $10,000.
A home-owner’s struggle
For George Watson, a 77-year-old Kennesaw resident, the talk is private.
Watson told local outlet WCSC final 12 months that he’s dealing with foreclosures after his HOA fined him for not strain washing his residence and for leaving a bucket of water and a ladder exterior.
The HOA collected greater than $9,000 in fines and authorized charges in opposition to Watson, who lives on about $20,000 a 12 months in Social Security earnings.
Watson stated that through the COVID-19 pandemic, he developed a phobia of mail and prevented checking it for months, lacking a number of violation notices. When he lastly opened his mail in late 2022, he discovered a $6,000 demand from the HOA’s legal professional, in accordance with the report.
In July 2024, the HOA filed for foreclosures after inserting a lien on his residence. Paperwork present Watson was charged $50 a day for 4 months, plus curiosity and month-to-month dues of $180. Authorized prices alone exceeded $3,600.
“I borrowed all the cash that’s within the lawsuit,” Watson stated. “(It’s been) a 12 months of hysteria and fear over not having any cash.”
He reportedly took out a home equity loan to rent an legal professional and has been preventing the case for greater than a 12 months.
“I bought mine out of a divorce; it was all I might afford,” Watson stated. “Every thing I’ve is tied up on this home, all of the fairness I’ve received to indicate for my life.”
