In a major win for property rights and rule of law, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has signed legislation that holds local governments financially accountable when officials allow homelessness to grow unchecked and harm neighborhoods.
House Bill 295, championed by state Rep. Houston Gaines and state Sen. Clint Dixon—and modeled on the Goldwater Institute’s Safe Neighborhoods Act—empowers property owners to seek compensation when local governments have a policy, pattern or practice of failing to enforce laws related to homelessness and allowing public nuisances to persist unabated.
Specifically, the legislation allows property owners to file claims when property values decrease or when owners incur reasonable mitigation expenses due to the local government’s failure to enforce laws related to illegal camping, panhandling, loitering, drug activity, and public intoxication.
HB 295 stands for the simple premise that when government fails to perform its most basic duties, citizens should not be left holding the bag. This legislation does not attempt to solve homelessness directly. Instead, it allows property owners to recover reasonable costs associated with the government’s failure to protect public safety and abate nuisances. Fundamentally, this bill is about establishing proper incentives and recentering property owners and safe neighborhoods in the debate over homelessness.
The measure is intended to give recourse to individuals like Gregory Gould, a mid-town Atlanta resident who has dealt firsthand with the city’s unwillingness to address the downstream consequences of their lax homelessness policies. Gregory first noticed the problem of unchecked homelessness when human feces began appearing on doorsteps at his condo complex, but things soon grew dangerous. Homeless encampments began springing up in his building’s stairwells and Gregory was assaulted and threatened while picking up trash.
Gregory and his neighbors invested significant money to clean up and secure their property against homeless encampments. Despite repeated good faith efforts to work with the city and local homeless advocates, authorities did little, if anything, to enforce laws aimed at protecting Gregory and his neighbors. “I would like to be safe in my own neighborhood,” Gregory recently told Georgia lawmakers at a public hearing.
Thankfully, Gregory and his neighbors now have a means to hold local governments financially accountable when they fail to enforce basic laws related to homelessness and public safety.
Georgia’s HB 295 echoes the spirit of Arizona’s Proposition 312, a groundbreaking measure championed by the Goldwater Institute and approved by voters in 2024. Prop 312 similarly ensures that property owners can obtain relief when cities fail to enforce laws and allow homelessness related nuisances to take root. HB 295 brings that same model to Georgia, signaling that state policymakers are serious about protecting communities instead of making excuses.
Allowing individuals to live in dangerous encampments, often without access to sanitation, treatment, or services, is not compassionate—it’s neglect and dereliction of duty from local governments. Meanwhile, surrounding communities suffer from increased crime, serious health hazards, and economic decline.
Importantly, HB 295 does not criminalize homelessness. Instead, it ensures that governments cannot ignore illegal activity and its consequences on private property owners. It reinforces the idea that laws must be applied evenly, and that public officials are accountable to the people they serve. Most notably, the new law gives property owners financial recourse when local governments fail to provide basic public safety in a way that forces owners to incur mitigation costs.
The Goldwater Institute appreciates Rep. Gaines and Sen. Dixon for their tireless work to protect property rights and public safety, and applauds Gov. Kemp for signing this crucial reform.
Brian Norman is the Director of State Affairs at the Goldwater Institute, where he leads the Institute’s nationwide government affairs strategy.
