Georgia • Special assessment notice
Special assessment from your Georgia condo or HOA — can the board just do that?
Georgia is a light-regulation state for community associations: no central regulator, no reserve mandate for HOAs, and broad board authority to assess. That combination makes special assessments both common and, for buyers, easy to miss.
The short answer
In Georgia the board can levy a special assessment for any common expense unless your declaration requires a vote, and there's no statutory cap. Georgia mandates no reserve study or funding — for HOAs, none at all — so surprise assessments are common. CondoSignal reads your notice and budget against Georgia law to tell you whether it's a red flag. Free.Georgia at a glance
Owner vote required?
Per declaration
Board may levy for any common expense.
Assessment cap
None
No statutory cap (§ 44-3-80 / -225).
Reserves required
No
Condos budget/disclose; HOAs have no requirement.
Super-lien
≈ 6 mo / $2K
Behind 1st mortgage and taxes.
Who can levy it
Under the Condominium Act (§ 44-3-80) and the Property Owners' Association Act (§ 44-3-225), the board can levy a special assessment for any common expense unless your declaration requires an owner vote — and there's no statutory cap. Before foreclosing an unpaid assessment, the association must mail a certified 30-day demand.
Thin reserves, especially in HOAs
Condos must budget for replacement reserves and disclose them (§ 44-3-111), but there's no study mandate or funding level. HOAs have no reserve requirement at all. So a major repair — roof, deck, HVAC — frequently arrives as a special assessment with little warning, particularly in HOAs that kept dues artificially low.
The disclosure gap
Condo sales come with statutory disclosures and a 7-day rescission on developer sales, but Georgia HOAs have no state-mandated resale disclosure. That means an HOA buyer can inherit a pending assessment without an automatic paper trail — so the budget, reserves, and minutes have to be requested and read directly.
Your rights in Georgia
Georgia condo owners get statutory budget/reserve disclosure and a certified 30-day demand before any assessment foreclosure (§ 44-3-109); HOA owners have far fewer statutory protections and no mandated resale disclosure. None of this is legal advice — confirm against the current O.C.G.A. and Georgia counsel.
What to check
- Confirm whether you're in a condo (§ 44-3-70+) or a POAA HOA.
- Read the declaration for any owner-vote requirement on specials.
- Request the budget and reserves — especially for an HOA (no mandate).
- Check the minutes for when the assessment was discussed.
- Confirm the master policy covers your area's wind/hail risk.
- Watch for high delinquency or an unpaid prior assessment.
Sources
- O.C.G.A. § 44-3-111 — sale disclosure & reserves(High)
- O.C.G.A. § 44-3-109 — condominium lien(High)
- Georgia Property Owners' Association Act (§ 44-3-220 et seq.)(High)
Educational only — not legal, financial, or engineering advice. Confirm against the current statute and, where it matters, a Georgia-licensed professional.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
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