What is a special assessment in Georgia?

SB 406 defines it as an assessment imposed on owners for costs that are not included in the association’s regular operating budget, such as legal costs and nonroutine or emergency repairs, renovations and other capital projects.

Can a Georgia HOA board levy a special assessment without an owner vote?

The sections of the Property Owners’ Association Act that we hold do not require a vote. Your declaration and bylaws may. Condominiums have a statutory limit that depends on a vote, as quoted above.

Is there a cap on a Georgia HOA special assessment?

Not in the property owners’ association text that we hold. Your documents may set one. For condominiums, see the one-sixth rule quoted above and ask your attorney whether it applies to you.

Can an HOA put a lien on a home for an unpaid special assessment?

The statute makes sums lawfully assessed a lien on the lot. Foreclosing on it has its own notice and threshold rules, covered in our foreclosure threshold guide.

Money · Georgia

Georgia HOA special assessments: what the statute says and what your documents decide

Updated October 27, 2026 · For volunteer boards

The short version

SB 406 defines a special assessment as one for costs outside the regular operating budget, such as legal costs and nonroutine or emergency repairs, renovations and other capital projects.
The sections of the Property Owners’ Association Act that we hold set no owner vote and no dollar cap for a special assessment. Your declaration and bylaws decide who may levy one, and how.
An unpaid assessment is the owner’s personal obligation and a lien on the lot. From January 1, 2027, a payment goes to regular assessments first, then to special assessments.
Condominiums are under a different statute with its own limit. Check which one governs you.

Not legal advice. This page is general information for volunteer boards. It is not legal advice, and laws and documents differ. Ask your association’s attorney before you act on it.

What counts as a special assessment

Georgia’s new owners’ association chapter, effective January 1, 2027, sorts assessments into regular, special and specific. Regular assessments fund the operating budget, including reserve contributions. A special assessment covers a real cost that was never in that budget, like a storm repair or a legal bill.

“'Special assessments' means an assessment imposed on owners for costs which are not included in the owners' association's regular operating budget, and which may include, but shall not be limited to, legal costs and common area nonroutine or emergency repairs, renovations, and other capital projects. Such term shall not include regular assessments or specific assessments.”

O.C.G.A. § 43-17A-1(9) (SB 406 § 2)

Where the power to levy one comes from

In the Property Owners’ Association Act text we hold, we found no percentage of owners who must approve a special assessment, no dollar cap and no notice period written for it. That does not mean there are none. It means the answer sits in your own declaration and bylaws, which usually say who can levy an assessment, how much notice is needed and whether owners vote.

So the first job is to read your documents. If they are silent or unclear, ask your attorney before you send an invoice. An assessment the documents do not support is the easiest kind for an owner to challenge.

Owners cannot opt out, and unpaid amounts become a lien

Once a special assessment is lawfully levied, an owner cannot avoid it by not using the common area or by walking away from it. The statute says no owner other than the association is exempt from liability for an assessment.

An unpaid assessment is also more than a debt. The statute makes sums lawfully assessed the owner’s personal obligation and a lien on the lot in favor of the association, ahead of most other liens.

“No lot owner other than the association shall be exempted from any liability for any assessment under this Code section or under any instrument for any reason whatsoever, including, without limitation, abandonment, nonuse, or waiver of the use or enjoyment of his or her lot or any part of the common area”

O.C.G.A. § 44-3-225(b)

“All sums lawfully assessed by the association against any lot owner or property owners’ association lot, whether for the share of the common expenses pertaining to that lot, fines, or otherwise, and all reasonable charges made to any lot owner or lot for materials furnished or services rendered by the association at the owner’s request to or on behalf of the lot owner or lot, shall, from the time the sums became due and payable, be the personal obligation of the lot owner and constitute a lien in favor of the association on the lot prior and superior to all other liens whatsoever except:”

O.C.G.A. § 44-3-232(a)

From 2027, payments go to special assessments second

SB 406 sets the order in which an association must apply an owner’s payment. Regular assessments come first, until current. Special assessments come second. Fines and fees come last. A board that applies a payment to a fine first, while a special assessment is unpaid, would be out of order.

The order does not name interest or collection costs, so ask your attorney where they fall.

“All funds remitted by an owner to an owners' association shall be applied by such owners' association to the following expenses by ranking of highest to lowest priority as follows:”

O.C.G.A. § 43-17A-8(a) (SB 406 § 2)

“Regular assessments or dues until current;”

O.C.G.A. § 43-17A-8(a)(1)

“Special assessments until current;”

O.C.G.A. § 43-17A-8(a)(2)

Do special assessments count toward the foreclosure threshold?

From January 1, 2027, a foreclosure on a lien needs a minimum amount. The text excludes specific assessments, fines and fees from that amount. It does not say in so many words whether special assessments are counted.

HomeownerHub’s collections panel counts regular and special assessments. That is our reading, not a court’s. Have your attorney confirm it before you rely on it.

“No foreclosure action against a lien arising out of this subsection shall be permitted unless the amount of the lien is at least the lesser of $4,000.00 or an amount equal to 12 months of regular assessments, as such term is defined in Code Section 43-17A-1, in arrears but not less than $2,000.00; provided, however, that no specific assessment, as such term is defined in Code Section 43-17A-1, or other fine or fee shall be included in the calculation of the amount of such lien.”

O.C.G.A. § 44-3-232(c), as revised by SB 406 § 5 (from Jan. 1, 2027)

Condominiums have their own limit

A condominium is under the Georgia Condominium Act instead. For condominium instruments recorded on or after July 1, 2015, it says the instrument may not authorize the board to impose the following. Older instruments and the exceptions need your attorney’s reading.

“Except as provided in subsections (a) and (b) of this Code section and subsections (a) and (b) of Code Section 44-3-109, a special assessment fee per unit in excess of one-sixth of the annual common expense assessment for the unit levied pursuant to subsection (c) of this Code section per fiscal year without the approval of a majority of the unit owners;”

O.C.G.A. § 44-3-80(g)(1) (Georgia Condominium Act)

A fair process, as best practice

None of this is in the statute, but a board that follows it is easier to defend. Write down the cost, why it is not in the budget, and your bids. Put the decision on a noticed agenda and record the vote in the minutes. Then tell owners in writing the amount per lot, the due date, how to pay, and whether you allow installments.

Keep the special assessment as its own ledger line, apart from regular dues and fines. That makes the 2027 payment order easy to follow.

What this page cannot tell you

We do not hold Georgia case law, the text of your declaration, or any official guidance on how a court will read the points above. We cannot tell you whether your board may levy a special assessment, how large it may be, or whether owners must vote. Ask your attorney to review your documents once, and keep that advice with the minutes.

What to do next

1Read your declaration and bylaws for the power to levy a special assessment, any owner vote or cap, and the notice steps.
2Write down the cost, the bids and why it is outside the regular budget.
3Notice the meeting as your documents require, and record the vote in the minutes.
4Send owners a written notice with the amount per lot, the due date and how to pay.
5Record it as its own charge, apart from regular dues and fines.
6Before January 1, 2027, confirm that payments are applied in the statutory order, and ask your attorney about interest and collection costs.

What HomeownerHub does about this

On a home’s dues, Georgia boards can use Record payment to enter one payment that covers several charges. From January 1, 2027 the app splits it in SB 406’s order: regular dues first, then special assessments, then late fees and fines, then everything else. You see the split before saving.
Each open collections case shows whether the amount owed clears the threshold: today’s rule and the stricter 2027 rule side by side, using the regular and special assessments owed less unapplied credit. The panel is read-only.

The board approves every draft. HomeownerHub prepares paperwork and cites the law; it does not file for you or give legal advice.

Frequently asked questions

What is a special assessment in Georgia?: SB 406 defines it as an assessment imposed on owners for costs that are not included in the association’s regular operating budget, such as legal costs and nonroutine or emergency repairs, renovations and other capital projects.
Can a Georgia HOA board levy a special assessment without an owner vote?: The sections of the Property Owners’ Association Act that we hold do not require a vote. Your declaration and bylaws may. Condominiums have a statutory limit that depends on a vote, as quoted above.
Is there a cap on a Georgia HOA special assessment?: Not in the property owners’ association text that we hold. Your documents may set one. For condominiums, see the one-sixth rule quoted above and ask your attorney whether it applies to you.
Can an HOA put a lien on a home for an unpaid special assessment?: The statute makes sums lawfully assessed a lien on the lot. Foreclosing on it has its own notice and threshold rules, covered in our foreclosure threshold guide.

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