07/31/2026
SB 406 and Association Records: A Right Needs a Workable Process
Today, as we work through SB 406, we are trying to nail down a fair process for owners to request association records. Announcing a right is not enough. Everyone must know where a request goes, when a response is due, what may be charged or redacted, and how disagreements are resolved.
SB 406 is Act 715, the “Georgia Property Owners’ Bill of Rights Act.” Except for Section 7’s attorney-fee provisions, the Act—including its records provisions—takes effect January 1, 2027. Act 715/SB 406, §§ 1 and 9 (https://gov.georgia.gov/document/2026-signed-legislation/sb-406/download).
What SB 406 says
New O.C.G.A. § 43-17A-7(1) gives an owner the right to:
“Inspect and obtain copies of owners’ association records, accounting records, and other records of the owners’ association upon written demand and in compliance with the laws of this state and the governing documents. Such accounting records shall be the finalized balance sheet, budget, profit and loss statements, and bank statements for the past three years.”
“Owner” means the record owner of fee-simple title to a lot, unit, or other individually owned property, subject to O.C.G.A. § 43-17A-1(5). Act 715/SB 406, lines 40–43 and 312–321 (https://gov.georgia.gov/document/2026-signed-legislation/sb-406/download).
SB 406 separately requires at least ten years’ retention of records relating to assessments, fines, fees, liens, and foreclosures—including electronic records—and permits Secretary of State examination of specified records. O.C.G.A. § 43-17A-2(f)–(g). That differs from the three-year period stated for listed owner-facing accounting records in § 43-17A-7(1).
The gap is straightforward: § 43-17A-7(1) creates the right but not a complete process. It sets no request address, deadline, delivery rule, fee schedule, redaction standard, or denial notice. The Secretary of State may implement Chapter 17A through rules under O.C.G.A. § 43-17A-9, but those rules should not materially narrow the enacted right.
Existing Georgia law still matters
The words “in compliance with the laws of this state” must have meaning. Condominium associations must keep detailed minutes, itemized financial records, and other books necessary to reflect association affairs under the Georgia Condominium Act, O.C.G.A. § 44-3-106(d). Associations subject to the Georgia Property Owners’ Association Act have parallel duties under O.C.G.A. § 44-3-231(d). Condominium Act (https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-44/chapter-3/article-3/section-44-3-106/) and POAA (https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-44/chapter-3/article-6/section-44-3-231/).
For Georgia nonprofit corporations, O.C.G.A. §§ 14-3-1601–1604 address required corporate records, five-business-day written notice for specified inspections, proper-purpose requirements for certain other records, electronic copies, reasonable charges, and court enforcement. Georgia Nonprofit Corporation Code (https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-14/chapter-3/article-16/part-1/).
Any SB 406 procedure should preserve greater access available under another applicable law. Governing documents may establish reasonable administration, but they should not eliminate, indefinitely delay, or materially obstruct O.C.G.A. § 43-17A-7(1).
What the Georgia Open Records Act can teach us
The meeting suggestion to borrow from the Georgia Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq., is useful. That Act governs agencies and public records; SB 406 does not ordinarily turn a private association into a public agency. It is a procedural model, not the law directly controlling every HOA request. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70(a)–(b). O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 (https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-50/chapter-18/article-4/section-50-18-70/).
1. Known custodian. Requests go to a custodian under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(a)(2). Georgia’s 2025 SB 12 also requires a government custodian to retrieve public records held by its private contractor. An association likewise should not deny access merely because its manager or vendor holds the record. 2025 SB 12, §§ 1–3 (https://gov.georgia.gov/document/2025-signed-legislation/sb-12/download).
2. Prompt response and rolling production. Available records generally must be produced within three business days. If only some are available, those are produced; the agency describes the remainder, gives a timeline, and produces them as soon as practicable. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(b)(1)–(3). O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71 (https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-50/chapter-18/article-4/section-50-18-71/).
3. Economical, disclosed charges. The most economical reasonable method must be used. Search, retrieval, and redaction charges are limited to the prorated salary of the lowest-paid capable employee, with the first 15 minutes free. Ordinary copies are capped at ten cents per page; estimates are required above $25, and prepayment may be required above $500. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(c)–(d).
4. Narrow redaction and explained denial. The custodian identifies the legal authority for withholding. Personal financial information, privileged communications, and work product may be protected, but nonexempt portions are produced. O.C.G.A. §§ 50-18-71(d) and 50-18-72(a)(20), (41)–(42), (b). O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72 (https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-50/chapter-18/article-4/section-50-18-72/).
5. Usable electronic records; no invented reports. Existing data generally cannot be withheld merely because ordinary search, filter, export, or redaction commands are needed. An agency need not create a new report, summary, or compilation that did not exist. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(f), (h), and (j).
The Open Records Act’s court, attorney-fee, civil-penalty, and criminal provisions in O.C.G.A. §§ 50-18-73 and 50-18-74 should not be silently transplanted into SB 406. Chapter 17A has its own complaint and hearing process, and any additional sanction requires valid statutory authority. § 50-18-73 (https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-50/chapter-18/article-4/section-50-18-73/) and § 50-18-74 (https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-50/chapter-18/article-4/section-50-18-74/).
A balanced SB 406 process for consideration
1. Each association publishes one records-custodian mailing address and one working email address or portal.
2. A written demand identifies the owner, property, records, reasonable date range, and preferred format. A purpose is required only when applicable law requires it; § 43-17A-7(1) states no universal purpose requirement.
3. The association acknowledges receipt within three business days and promptly identifies any reasonable ownership-verification or clarification need.
4. Readily available records are produced within ten business days, unless controlling law requires earlier access. If completion is not reasonably possible, available records, the reason for delay, an itemized estimate, and a reasonable completion date are provided. Production continues on a rolling basis.
5. Electronic delivery is the default when practicable. Association records held by a manager or vendor remain subject to the process. Ordinary retrieval or export is not treated as creating a record; a genuinely new report is not required.
6. Charges are actual, reasonable, itemized, and based on the most economical capable method. Routine electronic transmission involving minimal labor is free. Advance notice is required above $25, with prepayment allowed above a defined threshold.
7. Only legally protected portions are redacted. Account and routing numbers, passwords, personal identifiers, privileged communications, and protected work product may be masked or withheld as legally appropriate; the remainder is produced. The response states the record category and specific legal or valid governing-document basis.
8. The association identifies what was produced, redacted, withheld, unavailable, or nonexistent; certifies completion; and preserves records once a dispute is anticipated.
9. An unchanged record may be answered with the prior production or a stable link, but not when an updated record exists.
10. A short informal-resolution period precedes escalation, followed by notice of the complaint or court process.
Two gaps we should not overlook
First, O.C.G.A. § 43-17A-7(1) gives the records right to an owner, including one who may not reside in the development. Yet O.C.G.A. § 43-17A-5(a)(1) opens the administrative complaint process to a “person residing in an owners’ development” and imposes a 180-day deadline. “Owner” and “resident” are not interchangeable. A nonresident owner’s administrative remedy is uncertain and may require legislative clarification. Act 715/SB 406, lines 250–265 and 312–318 (https://gov.georgia.gov/document/2026-signed-legislation/sb-406/download).
Second, § 43-17A-2(g) requires ten-year retention of enforcement-related records, while § 43-17A-7(1) expressly identifies three years of specified accounting statements. Regulations should explain whether older retained material may qualify as “other records,” without turning the three-year language into permission to destroy records that another law requires to be kept longer.
My position is balanced: owners should not have to fight, guess, or pay inflated charges for records they are legally entitled to review. Volunteer boards and self-managed associations also deserve clear standards, reasonable time, confidentiality protection, and relief from demands to create nonexistent records. A clear process protects everyone, makes transparency dependable, and reduces the disputes SB 406 is intended to address.
Policy analysis, not legal advice.
Confidence level: High regarding the enacted SB 406 language and Open Records Act procedures; moderate regarding how regulators or courts will reconcile the unresolved three-year/ten-year periods and the nonresident-owner remedy.
