Title 44

If the report of the examiner discloses that persons other than those who have been notified are entitled to notice, a copy of the petition shall be served upon such persons in the same manner as other persons named as defendants in the petition are required to be served by this …

Wherever notice is required by this article and no provision is made as to how notice shall be given or wherever, in the discretion of the judge, additional notice to that provided for in this article should be given to any particular person or persons or to the public generally,…

While the cause is pending before the examiner of titles or at any time before final decree, the judge, or the examiner with the approval of the judge, may require the land to be surveyed by some competent surveyor and may order durable bounds to be set and a plat thereof to be f…

If the petitioner’s title is not and cannot be made proper for registration, the petition may, at the discretion of the court or the petitioner, be dismissed without prejudice on terms to be determined by the court. (Ga. L. 1917, p. 108, § 23; Code 1933, § 60-218.)

Pending registration, the land described in any petition may be dealt with as if no petition had been filed; but any person who shall acquire any interest in or claim against any such land shall at once appear as a petitioner or answer as a party defendant in the pleadings for re…

No decree shall be rendered by default and without the necessary facts being shown. (Ga. L. 1917, p. 108, § 21; Code 1933, § 60-221.)

After the record has been perfected and settled, the judge of the superior court shall proceed to decide the case; and if, upon consideration of such record, the title shall be found in the petitioner, the judge shall enter a decree to that effect ascertaining all limitations, li…

Every decree rendered as provided in this article shall bind the land and bar all persons claiming title thereto or interest therein, shall quiet the title thereto, and shall be forever binding and conclusive upon and against all persons, including this state, whether mentioned b…

All judgments and decrees of the superior court or the judge thereof which are rendered under this article shall be subject to review by the Supreme Court. (Ga. L. 1917, p. 108, § 82; Code 1933, § 60-224.)

Referral of case to examiner; preliminary report; contents; time of filing; evidentiary effect. Hearing; final report; delay of hearing to add new parties; notice. Examiner’s powers; contents, filing, and notice of examiner’s report; right to jury trial, new trial, and appeal; re…

Health care facility medical practice liens, actions for care and treatment costs. Duties, §44-14-472. Mechanics’ and materialmen’s liens. Records of preliminary notice of lien rights. Duties, §44-14-361.3. Release of lien on real estate on approval of bond. Hold harmless provisi…

Duty of clerk to record certain transaction affecting real estate and personal property; priority or recorded instruments; effect of recording on rights between parties to instruments. Voluntary deeds or conveyances of land; effect of recording. Protection of good faith purchases…

Partial transfer of registered land; undivided interest; interest in particular portion; notations on register; issuance of certificates. Subdivision of registered land; procedure. Conveyance to secure debt; form; notation and registration; creditor’s certificate. Assignment or n…

Registration and title certificate to run with land [Repealed]. Availability of prescription or adverse possession against registered land. Rights, burdens, and incidents as to both registered and unregistered land; validity of transfers of title by last registered owner. Notatio…

Failure to perform duties, §44-2-122. Performance of clerk’s duties by deputies, §44-2-42. Sheriffs. Performance of sheriff’s duties by deputies, §44-2-42. INDEX LIABILITY —Cont’d Military affairs. Landlord and tenant. Military personnel receiving change of duty orders. Liability…

Certified copies of certificates of title or entries thereon. Recordation and notation of plat; attaching certified copy to certificate; fee. Recordation of lengthy description — Reference on title register; effect. Recordation of lengthy description — Notation on owner’s or cred…

SHIPS AND VESSELS. Lien of officers and employees on watercraft, §44-14-510. SHOES. Laundry’s, cleaner’s and tailor’s lien, §§44-14-450 to 44-14-456. SHOW CAUSE ORDERS. Easements. Private ways, §44-9-43. SHRUBS. Security agreements relating to crops, §§44-14-100, 44-14-101. SIDEW…

Definitions. Performance of clerk’s and sheriff ’s duties by deputies; liability. Fraud, forgery, and theft in connection with registration of title to land; penalty. Fraudulent acts by office of clerk personnel; penalties. Fraud or false entries by sheriffs and deputies; penalti…

Quitclaim deeds. Bonds for title, conveyances to secure debt, purchase contracts, etc. Following judgment, §44-14-210. Subsequent deeds conveying lands. Priority over unrecorded deeds from same vendor when taken without notice of existence of prior deed, §44-2-1. INDEX RECORDATIO…

Mortgages on property of railroads. Registry, §44-14-36. CROSS REFERENCES. Partial transfers of registered land. Noted upon title register, §44-2-161. CRUDE GUM. Security agreements relating to crops, §§44-14-100, 44-14-101. CRUELTY TO ANIMALS. Veterinarians and boarders of anima…

Proceedings to be in rem; operation of decree. Procedure as to actions for registration; persons under disability. 34 T.44, C.2 Persons claiming less than fee; establishing title without registration. Petition — Verification; contents; description of land; surveys; amendments. Pe…

This article shall be known and may be cited as the ‘‘Georgia Land Sales Act.’’ (Code 1981, § 44-3-1, enacted by Ga. L. 1982, p. 1431, § 1; Ga. L. 1990, p. 606, § 1; Ga. L. 1995, p. 993, § 1.)

Any developer or its agents shall keep among its business records and make reasonably available for examination to a purchaser or the purchaser’s agent the following: (1) A copy of each item required in Code Section 44-3-3; and (2) A copy of the sales agreement from each sale rel…

Any condition, stipulation, or provision binding any person who enters into a transaction subject to the provisions of this article which waives: (1) Compliance with any provision of this article or of the rules and regulations promulgated under this article; (2) Any rights provi…

In any action, civil or criminal, where a defense is based upon any exemption provided for in this article, the burden of proving the existence of such exemption shall be upon the party raising such defense. (Code 1981, § 44-3-18, enacted by Ga. L. 1982, p. 1431, § 1; Ga. L. 1983…

Prior law exclusively governs all actions, prosecutions, or proceedings which are pending or may be initiated on the basis of facts or circumstances occurring before July 1, 1995, except that no civil actions may be maintained to enforce any liability under prior law unless broug…

As used in this article, the term: (1) ‘‘Agent’’ means any person who represents, or acts for or on behalf of, a developer in selling or leasing or offering to sell or lease any lot or lots in a subdivision but shall not include an attorney at law whose representation of another …

(a)(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to offer for sale or to sell any subdivided land to any person in this state unless such offering complies with this article or is exempt under Code Section 44-3-4. Any person offering to sell any subdivided land shall provide each prosp…

Unless the method of sale is adopted for the purpose of evasion of this article or of the federal Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act, the provisions of Code Section 44-3-3 shall not apply to offers or dispositions in an interest in land: (1) By a purchaser of any subdivisi…

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person: (1) To offer to sell or to sell any subdivided land in violation of any provision of this article; (2) To offer to sell or to sell any subdivided land by means of any oral or written untrue statement of a material fact or any omission to s…

(a) Whenever it appears to the district attorney or the Attorney General, either upon complaint or otherwise, that any person has engaged in, is engaging in, or is about to engage in any act, practice, or transaction which is prohibited by this article, the district attorney or t…

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this Code section, any person who shall willfully violate any provision of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be subject to a fine of not more than $1,000.00 or imprisonment not to exceed 1…

(a) Any person who violates any provision of Code Section 44-3-5 shall be liable to the person buying such land. Such buyer may bring an action in any court of competent jurisdiction to recover damages, even if that buyer no longer owns the land, or, upon tender of the land at an…

Except as provided in Code Section 44-3-6, for the purposes of venue for any civil or criminal action under this article, any violation of this article or of any rule, regulation, or order promulgated under this article shall be considered to have been committed in any county in …

(a) Prior to recording the declaration, the declarant shall cause the association to be duly incorporated either as a business corporation under Chapter 2 of Title 14 or as a nonprofit membership corporation under Chapter 3 of Title 14. The corporate name of the association shall…

(a) If provided for in the condominium instruments and subject to any limitations contained in the condominium instruments, the association’s articles of incorporation, the association’s bylaws, or this article with respect thereto, the declarant shall be authorized to appoint an…

Meetings of the members of the association shall be held in accordance with the provisions of the association’s bylaws and in any event shall be called not less frequently than annually. A condominium instrument recorded on or after July 1, 1990, shall also provide for the callin…

Unless the condominium instruments or bylaws provide otherwise, a quorum shall be deemed present throughout any meeting of the members of the association if persons entitled to cast more than one-third of the votes are present at the beginning of the meeting. Unless the condomini…

If the condominium instruments provide that any member of the board of directors or any officer of the association must be a unit owner, then, notwithstanding paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Code Section 44-3-75, the term ‘‘unit owner’’ in such context shall, unless the condom…

Except to the extent otherwise provided by the condominium instruments, all powers and responsibilities with regard to maintenance, repair, renovation, restoration, and replacement shall pertain to the association in the case of the common elements other than limited common eleme…

(a) Except to the extent prohibited by the condominium instruments and subject to any restrictions and limitations specified therein, the association shall have the power to: (1) Employ, retain, dismiss, and replace agents and employees to exercise and discharge the powers and re…

(a) The association shall obtain: (1) A property insurance policy or policies affording fire and extended coverage insurance for and in an amount consonant with the full insurable replacement cost, less deductibles, of all buildings and structures within the condominium. Regardle…

The common profits shall be applied to the payment of common expenses, and the rights in any surplus remaining after such payment shall pertain to the condominium units in proportion to the liability for common expenses pertaining to each such unit. The surplus shall be according…

(a) All sums lawfully assessed by the association against any unit owner or condominium unit, whether for the share of the common expenses pertaining to that condominium unit, for fines, or otherwise, and all reasonable charges made to any unit owner or condominium unit for mater…

Any rights of first refusal or other restraints on free alienability of the condominium units created by the condominium instruments shall be void unless the condominium instruments make provision for furnishing upon request to any unit owner or person who has executed a contract…

(a) This Code section shall apply only to the first bona fide sale of each residential condominium unit for residential occupancy by the buyer, any member of the buyer’s family, or any employee of the buyer. This Code section shall apply to any such sale regardless of whether the…