Georgia Condominium and Community Association
Law: A Research Guide
Edited and published by Jed Morton, Attorney at Law
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E. Law Review, Journal, and other Articles
A. The
Georgia Condominium Act
This purpose of this website is to
compile multiple sources of information which would be of use to anyone
interested in Georgia Condominium and Homeowners’ Association Law. Although primarily devoted to
This Guide is intended for use by
attorneys, condominium and homeowners’ association members, and association
leadership as a tool or a starting point for researching issues of law related
to the rapidly growing and increasingly important field of structured community
ownership of property.
The predecessors of modern
incarcerations of community living and common ownership of property have been
variously traced to ancient cave dwellers, nomads, the pre-Caesarian
The Primary Source information in
Section II of this Guide is devoted to current
The Georgia Condominium Act,
O.C.G.A. § 44-3-70 to § 44-3-117 and the Georgia Property Owners’ Association
Act, O.C.G.A. § 44-3-220 to § 44-3-235 (2004) are the primary statutory
authority. The two areas of law are
similar and often merge (for a discussion of the similarities and differences,
see 1
When I first created this site back in 2004, the following table linked directly to the specific code sections at the Georgia General Assembly’s web index of un-annotated Georgia code. However, that is no longer the case, and users will now find that clicking on any of the code section links will bring up the free Lexis index page for the Georgia code. The good news is, Lexis will keep up with changes the General Assembly may make to the code sections perhaps better than the General Assembly could be counted on to do. The bad news is, users will now need to navigate from the Lexis main page to the particular code section needed. The names of the respective code sections are included in this Research Guide to facilitate locating a particular area of interest. To use the Lexis site, first click "OK" on the opening page to get to the index. On the left side of the Index (next to the Title Numbers on that first page) you will see small circles around + signs. I call these "expand" symbols. If you click on them, that section will expand to show the subsections.
Note: If you want to keep this site open while you search the code on the Lexis site, instead of normally clicking the link, right click and select either "Open in new tab" or "Open in new window." This will make it easier to go back and forth between my site and the code sections. If you simply click on a link, you will navigate away from this site completely and be taken to the Lexis site.
To get to the Georgia Condo Act and the Property Owners' Association Act, first click on the expand symbol next to Title 44; then click on the expand symbol next to "Chapter 3: Regulation of Specialized Land Transactions." The Georgia Condo Act is Article 3 of this Chapter, and the Property Owners' Association Act is Article 6. You can click on the expand symbols next to those Articles to see the code sections, which should reflect the names as I have listed them in the table below.
The table highlights the
similarities and differences between the condominium and property owners' association law by showing that
almost every section of the Property Owners’ Association Act is mirrored in a
section of the Condominium Act, but the reverse is not true. There are many sections of the Condominium
Act that are inapplicable to Homeowners’ Associations. Thus the Georgia Condominium Act contains 47
sections of code, while the Property Owners’ Association Act is comprised of
only 15.
The section titles are the official titles as listed in the Official Code of Georgia. The information enclosed in brackets [] is information I have added in an attempt to clarify the subject matter in that code section.
|
Georgia Condominium Act Section |
Title of Georgia
Condominium Act Section |
Title of Georgia
Property Owners’ Association Act Section |
Georgia Property Owners’ Association Act Section |
|
Short Title |
Short Title |
||
|
Definitions [includes definition of “unit owner”]
|
Definitions |
||
|
Persons deemed to be “lot owner” [expands § 221 definition
for purposes of officers and board members] |
|||
|
Creation of condominium |
Creation of property owners’ development; affirmative
election to be governed by article |
||
|
Sufficiency of descriptions of condominium units; description
of undivided interest in common elements |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Recording condominium instruments, plats, plans, and
encumberances; record books |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Construction and validity of condominium instruments;
conflicts and inconsistencies; severability |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Compliance with condominium instruments, rules, and
regulations; means of enforcement |
Compliance with provisions of instrument and with rules
and regulations; penalties for noncompliance |
||
|
Contents of declaration |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Allocation—Interests in common elements |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Allocation—votes in association; how votes cast; majority
vote requirements |
Voting at association meetings |
||
|
Liability for common expenses; how assessments made |
Assessment of expenses; exemption from liability; liability
for unpaid assessments |
||
|
Reallocation of interests in common elements, votes,
and liability for common expenses |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Assignments and reassignments of limited common elements |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Recording of plats and plans; contents; completion
of structural improvements; certification by registered architect or
engineer |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Use of previously recorded plans in lieu of new plans |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Liability for failure to follow plats or plans; easements;
liability for damage |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Leasehold condominiums; lessor’s rights and powers;
owner’s rights and powers; liens; performance of covenants |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Conversion condominiums; notice; offer to convey; time
periods; rights of tenants |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Conversion of convertible spaces; amendment to the
declaration effecting conversion; reallocation of sums assessed prior
to conversion; treatment of convertible spaces not converted |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Expansion of condominium; amendment to declaration |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Alterations within units; combining two or more units |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Relocation of boundaries between units; application
for relocation; amendment to declaration; plans and plats; recording |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Subdivision of units; application for subdivision;
amendment to declaration; plans and plats; recording |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Amendment of condominium instruments |
Amendment of instrument; presumption of validity in
court action |
||
|
Damage or destruction of units; restoration; vote not
to restore; allocation of insurance deductible |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Effect of mortgages and liens; foreclosure; release |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Separate titles and taxation |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Eminent domain; compensation; reallocation of interests;
court determination; amendment to declaration |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Termination of condominium; creation of tenancy in
common; distribution of assets; transfer of mortgages and liens |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Withdrawal of submitted property; reallocation tremaining
units of undivided interest in common elements; contents of amendment;
transfer of mortgages and liens |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Incorporation of association; name; articles and bylaws;
membership; organization |
Incorporation as prerequisite to submission of article;
requirements as to corporate documents; board of directors |
||
|
Control of association by declarant; surrender of control
to unit owners; liability for books and records; cancellation of leases
and contracts |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Meetings of the association; notice; reports |
Frequency of meetings; notice |
||
|
Quorums at meetings of association or board |
Presence of quorums at meetings |
||
|
Directors and officers; eligibility |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Powers and duties as to upkeep of the condominium;
access; liability for damage |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Powers and responsibilities of association; tort actions |
Powers and duties of association; legal actions against
agent or employee of association |
||
|
Insurance Coverage |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Common profits; application to expenses; surplus |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Lien for assessments; personal obligation of unit owners;
notice and foreclosure; lapse; right to statement of assessments; effect
of failure to furnish statement |
Assessments against lot owners as constituting lien
in favor of association; additional charges against lot owners; procedure
for foreclosing lien; obligation to provide statement for amounts due |
||
|
Restraints on alienation and rights of first refusal;
statement of waiver or failure to exercise rights or restraints; effect
of failure to furnish statement |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Sales of residential condominium units for residential
occupancy; information required to be furnished by seller; buyer’s right
to void contract; limitations periods; attorney’s fees; penalty for
willful violation |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Escrow of deposits or other payments made prior to
closing |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Applicability of this article; effect on existing condominiums |
Applicability of article |
||
|
Application of article |
|||
|
Effect of article upon land use, zoning, building,
and subdivision laws; effect of Code Section 44-3-92 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Construction of this article; substantial compliance;
procedure for curing defects in recorded instruments |
Liberal construction of article; substantial compliance;
curing of defects by amendment |
||
|
Limitations in certain restrictive covenants inapplicable |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
(code section added in 2007) |
Application of subcondominiums; creation of subcondominium; subassociation; insurance; effect of certain liens; imminent domain; description of certain units; assessments. | N/A | N/A |
|
Definitions [includes definition of “unit owner”] |
Persons deemed to be “lot owner” |