Skyward view of the Georgia State Capitol front entrance

The Georgia General Assembly considered numerous housing and homelessness bills during the 2026 legislative session which ended on April 2. Governor Brian Kemp then had 40 days (until May 12) to sign or veto legislation passed by the legislature. 2026 was the second session of the two-year biennium. Bills that did not pass this year will no longer be eligible for passage and must be reintroduced in 2027.

Throughout the session, Enterprise Southeast advocated at the Capitol to protect Georgia’s state low-income housing tax credit program, preserve the rights of vulnerable neighbors living in extended stay hotels, and increase state funding to prevent and end homelessness. Below are some priority pieces of housing legislation that Enterprise tracked and engaged on this year.

Homelessness

  • Georgia lawmakers approved significant one-time funding to address unsheltered homelessness in the FY 2026 Amended budget. At the start of the legislative session, Governor Kemp recommended a $50 million homeless response grant to be paired with local matching funds for emergency shelter, transitional housing, street outreach and wraparound services. The legislature ultimately included $45 million in the FY26 Amended budget for the State Housing Trust Fund for the Homeless, with an additional $5 million going to the Department of Veterans Service. In a line-item budget veto from the Governor, the $5 million for veteran homelessness was ultimately eliminated. The Department of Community Affairs (DCA) is currently in the process of distributing this $45 million through the Georgia Rehoused Program.
  • The legislature added $9.3 million in funding for the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities in the FY 2027 budget for the addition of 404 new Georgia Housing Vouchers to benefit individuals with severe mental illness.
  • House Bill 295 moved in the opposite policy direction and was among the most controversial measures to pass this session. Despite strong opposition from Enterprise and other partners, HB 295 passed both chambers and was signed into law by Governor Kemp on May 12. This new law gives property owners and renters the ability to sue local governments for diminution in property value or expenses incurred resulting from the local government’s failure to enforce certain public nuisance laws that effectively criminalize homelessness, such as illegal camping, loitering, and panhandling. This law exposes cities and counties to costly litigation while incentivizing communities to jail people experiencing homelessness.
  • Senate Bill 428 authorizes the Department of Community Health to seek a waiver from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to allow for Medicaid reimbursement of home and community-based services for adults with a history of hospitalization, psychiatric crises, emergency department visits, incarceration, and/or homelessness and who are in need of mental health services. This legislation passed both chambers with near unanimous support and was signed into law by the Governor.

Affordable Housing Development and Preservation

  • Enterprise worked in coalition with partners during the 2026 legislative session to protect Georgia’s State Low-income Housing Tax Credit (SLIHTC) program from proposed cuts. Senate Bill 476, the Senate’s signature legislation to cut the state income tax, aimed to offset loss in income tax revenue by reducing and then phasing out certain state tax credits, including the SLIHTC. SB 476 passed the Senate but did not advance in the House. House Bill 1199 was modified in the Senate to include language capping the SLIHTC at $100 million annually for taxable years 2026-2028. HB 1199 passed both chambers and was signed by the Governor. Subsequent language in Senate Bill 306 clarified that this $100 million SLIHTC cap shall apply to credits initially awarded for each of the taxable years 2026 through 2028.
  • To address the issue of excessive tax assessments on low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) properties in some jurisdictions, House Resolution 1392 was introduced in 2026 to standardize tax assessments for affordable housing developments. HR 1392 would have created a new category of property tax valuation for LIHTC properties to provide predictability and bolster preservation of these properties. Enterprise supported this legislation, but it did not reach the House floor for a vote before Crossover Day.

Extended Stay Hotel Residents

  • For the second year in a row, Enterprise joined fellow housing advocates in successfully opposing legislation (House Bill 61 and Senate Bill 463) that would have eliminated the due process rights of long-term extended stay hotel residents facing removal, undoing the Georgia Supreme Court ruling in 2023 that these long-term residents may be entitled to eviction protections and treatment as a tenant. Despite passage of HB 61 in the Senate, both measures failed in the House.
    Land Use and Zoning
  • House Bill 1166, as introduced and passed by the House, would have authorized accessory dwelling units of up to 400 square feet on any property zoned for residential uses with limited exceptions. This legislation was substituted with different bill language in the Senate and did not pass both chambers.
  • The CHOICE (Community Housing Options Increase Cost Efficiency) Act, originally introduced in 2024 and reintroduced in 2026 as House Bill 400 and Senate Bill 508, provided a menu of policy solutions that local governments could implement to increase housing supply, update zoning ordinances, reduce building costs, and speed construction in exchange for priority consideration for grants from DCA and the Department of Natural Resources. This legislation did not pass.
    Housing Stability and Tenant Protections
  • House Bill 689, a bipartisan proposal to create a statewide homelessness prevention program passed the House with overwhelming support but ultimately stalled in the Senate. Enterprise testified in support of this bill which would have provided grants to local governments to implement and fund strategies designed to promote housing stability, such as short-term emergency rental and utility assistance, legal assistance, eviction diversion programs, and coordinated application systems. 
  • Tenant protection legislation did not pass this session. Legislation to establish minimum habitability standards for rental property and provide transparency on rental fees did not advance prior to Crossover Day.

Institutional Investor Ownership of Single-Family Homes

  • Numerous bills were introduced in 2026 with bipartisan support to limit institutional investor ownership of single family homes in Georgia. However, none passed this session. Enterprise supported House Resolution 656 which would have created a House Study Committee to examine this issue and its impact on home ownership in our state.

Stay Engaged. Stay Informed. 

Thank you for your engagement during the 2026 legislative session. Once again, your advocacy made a difference. We saw Georgia legislators commit significant public funding to homelessness response and reject efforts to take rights away from long-term residents of extended stay hotels. As we turn our sights toward 2027, I invite you to stay connected to our work and sign up for our Southeast Newsletter.