Club Membership, Explained

Two Different Memberships, Almost Always

Most of these communities separate two different obligations that are easy to conflate on a first read. Georgia's Property Owners' Association Act, where a community's declaration elects into it, defines the very term "declaration" as an instrument "administered by a property owners' association in which membership is mandatory for all owners of lots in the property owners' development," O.C.G.A. § 44-3-221(6) (opens in a new tab). A version of this section effective July 1, 2026 changes a word elsewhere in the same list of definitions; the "declaration" definition quoted above keeps the same wording and the same subsection number, (6), in that version. Mandatory property owners' association, or POA, membership tied to lot ownership is the baseline the Act itself assumes. A club, golf, tennis, swim, or otherwise, is a separate membership layered on top of that, and whether it is mandatory, optional, or automatic with a specific home varies by community, and sometimes by neighborhood within one community.

Keeping the two apart matters because they behave differently. A POA or HOA assessment is usually tied to the lot itself and hard to avoid. A club membership is a separate relationship with a separate organization, and whether it transfers, lapses, or has to be purchased new at closing is answered by that club, not by the property owners' association.

Four Communities, Four Real Shapes

These are not hypothetical variations. They are what each of the four club communities on this site actually shows, structurally, with no dollar figures repeated here, since a side-by-side of unverified numbers would be the same problem removed from one community and spread across four.

• The Landings on Skidaway Island: the Landings Association's assessment is described as mandatory for every owner. Club membership runs through a separate, sponsored process. Whether Club membership is bundled with a specific listing is not yet confirmed.
• The Ford Field and River Club: the Property Owners Association and The Ford Field & River Club, Inc. are described as separate legal entities. Whether Club membership is bundled with a specific listing is not yet confirmed.
• Savannah Quarters: the answer depends on which neighborhood a home is in. A secondary source reports that homeowners in Westbrook specifically are required to hold a Social Membership with the Club, not stated as a community-wide rule and not yet confirmed with the Association or the Club.
• Southbridge: HOA membership is automatic with ownership. Three separate clubs operate here, golf, tennis, and a lake club, and none of the three is described as mandatory with home purchase.

Four communities, four different shapes. That is not this site's inconsistency, it is what actually varies. Never assume one community's structure describes another's, and never assume this year's structure describes a resale five years from now.

A Georgia Law Mechanism Worth Knowing

This section explains general information about how these arrangements can work under Georgia law. It is not legal advice about any specific property, and it does not say that any of the four communities above are covered by the statute described below. The recorded declaration for a specific lot, and a closing attorney's reading of it, are what actually settle whether any of this applies, not this page.

Georgia's Property Owners' Association Act, O.C.G.A. §§ 44-3-220 through 44-3-235, is opt-in. A development is covered only if its declaration, or an amendment to it, states, in the Act's own words, "an affirmative election to be so governed," O.C.G.A. § 44-3-222 (opens in a new tab) (also confirmed at codes.findlaw.com (opens in a new tab)). Whether a specific community's declaration made that election is a question for the recorded declaration and a closing attorney, not an assumption to bring to a purchase. This description reflects the version of § 44-3-222 in effect as of this review's date above. A different version of this section takes effect January 1, 2027, but the opt-in requirement survives it word for word: the version effective January 1, 2027 states, in the same terms, that "any declaration or amendment intending to bring or avail a development of the benefits and provisions of this article shall state an affirmative election to be so governed," O.C.G.A. § 44-3-222 (version effective January 1, 2027) (opens in a new tab). The Act does not become automatic. Confirm the current text directly if you are reading this page well after that date, since other parts of the section may have changed even though this requirement did not.

Where a community's declaration does elect into the Act, one mechanism is worth knowing before closing. O.C.G.A. § 44-3-232(d) entitles "any lot owner, mortgagee of a lot, person having executed a contract for the purchase of a lot, or lender considering the loan of funds to be secured by a lot" to request, in writing, a statement from the association of assessments past due on a lot, O.C.G.A. § 44-3-232(d) (opens in a new tab) (also confirmed at codes.findlaw.com (opens in a new tab)). If the association does not furnish that statement within five business days of the request, the assessment lien "shall...be extinguished and of no further force or effect as to the title or interest acquired by the purchaser or lender...in the transaction contemplated in connection with such request," so the protection runs to the specific buyer or lender who requested it and closed in reliance on it, not to the lot generally. A fee of up to $10 may apply, but only "if the instrument so provides." Ask a closing attorney whether this mechanism applies to the specific community, and if so, whether the request has been made.

Subsection (d) above is unchanged in the version of § 44-3-232 effective January 1, 2027, confirmed directly against that version (opens in a new tab). Subsection (c), the foreclosure procedure itself, does change: the pre-foreclosure notice period extends from 30 days to 60 days, the minimum lien amount required before foreclosure changes from a flat $2,000 to the lesser of $4,000 or an amount equal to 12 months of regular assessments, never less than $2,000, with specific assessments, fines, and fees excluded from that calculation, and the lien lapse period extends from four years to six. Georgia's own codification credits both this change and § 44-3-222's, above, to the same 2026 session law, "Ga. L. 2026, p. 988, §§ 3, 5, SB 406," Georgia's Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act. Ask a closing attorney to confirm current law at the time of a purchase, particularly for any transaction near or after January 1, 2027.

What to Ask Before You Write an Offer

Ask these on the specific listing, not the community in general, since the answers are per-property and change over time.

• Is club membership required to own this specific home, optional, or automatic, and does that depend on which neighborhood or section it is in?
• If membership is required or wanted, what is the current initiation or transfer contribution, and is any part of it refundable?
• Does the seller's existing membership transfer at closing, lapse, or require a new application?
• What are current dues, by tier, and is there a waitlist for the tier of interest?
• Is the POA or HOA assessment separate from club dues, and what is each figure, in writing, right now?
• Has the community's declaration elected into Georgia's Property Owners' Association Act, and if so, has an assessment statement been requested for this lot?

Questions