Short-term rental requirements adopted by the Council
Legislation was recently adopted by the Atlanta City Council related to the regulation and taxation of short-term rentals, which are defined as anything less than 30 days.
The ordinance was introduced by Post 3 At-Large Council member Andre Dickens, who said the need for such legislation was sparked by the growing short-term rental market and the city’s role as a destination.
“For decades now, there have been short-term rentals in Atlanta. We are a huge convention and visitors paradise and millions of people come here for events. That’s a big part of our economy, especially prior to the COVID pandemic. When those people are here, they’re either staying in a hotel or they want to stay in a house as a short-term rental,” Dickens said. “Up until now, it has been unregulated.”
He noted the legislation will help by adding a new taxation and regulatory framework.
“This legislation will set an 8 percent tax on short-term rentals each night — just like a hotel. This matches the motel and hotel tax,” Dickens said. “There will also be a $150 registration fee for anyone wanting to register their property as a short-term rental.”
He noted the legislation also adds important safeguards for the short-term rental market such as the licensing requirement and receiving 24-hour contact information to help with issues such as noise violations or parking complaints.
“Those safeguards will help a neighbor inform the City and then that office can contact the host to tell their tenants that they’re being too noisy or something of that nature,” Dickens said. “If they don’t comply, there’s a $500 fine.”
He added that crafting and ultimately adopting the legislation needed to strike a balance to reflect the needs of the city and be heard by all the Neighborhood Planning Units (NPUs).
“Some folks across town say that they don’t want any short-term rentals and that they disrupt the character of the community. They wanted to ban them and if they couldn’t ban them, they wanted the number of short-term rentals reduced. I’ve heard that from members of the community, so we must take that under consideration. On the other side, there are people that fill in the gap of their economic situation by renting out their space, particularly during this pandemic or in the economic crisis that we’ve faced in the past,” Dickens said. “So, this is the type of legislation that’s a balancing act — one that needed to go through the entire community and the NPUs and receive input from Council members, the Law Department and the Planning Department.”
He added that in addition to finding a balance, the legislation also needed to reflect a city-wide policy.
“This isn’t just one person’s neighborhood issue or one person’s neighborhood opportunity. This is about the entire city of Atlanta,” Dickens said. “Across the city, we have different aspects to each neighborhood. As Atlanta grows, we want to be able to have balanced growth. We want there to be growth throughout the city. This legislation allows us to create a new regulatory framework and tax these rentals, which the tax revenue can then help benefit all communities where we’re talking about police, fire, and infrastructure and transportation needs.”
