Which Georgia local rules apply to the proposed use?
The selected city programs below impose different eligibility and renewal conditions. A certificate in one municipality does not approve a nearby county address. Identify the parcel jurisdiction and ask planning to classify the use before ordering furniture or accepting bookings.
Describe whether the rental is a room or whole dwelling, whether you will live there, guest count, stay length, parking and any accessory unit. Check the association declaration or lease and ask your insurer to confirm the intended operation.
For taxes, Georgia’s Department of Community Affairs directs lodging operators to their city, town or county for local hotel-motel collection questions. That local tax is distinct from the DOR-administered state fee.
Atlanta: one primary residence and one additional dwelling
Atlanta’s current program page says an owner or long-term tenant can obtain a license for a primary residence and one additional dwelling. Both properties must be within city limits, and one must be registered as the primary residence even if it will not be rented.
The license fee is $150 and the license is valid for 12 months, with annual renewal. The designated agent must handle compliance and complaints, display emergency contacts and include the license number in listings.
The city page identifies Ordinance 20-O-1656 as governing but also retains language about an extended enforcement date. Confirm the current enforcement and application position directly; that administrative language is not proof that the license requirement has been repealed.
Source: Atlanta’s current STR program and FAQ.
A buyer with a primary home outside Atlanta should resolve eligibility before underwriting an Atlanta investment property under this program. Do not manufacture a residence address to satisfy an application.
Savannah: check the overlay and ward before paying to apply
Savannah’s STVR program covers whole dwellings rented for 30 days or less in its designated overlay, including Downtown, Victorian and Streetcar historic districts. Room rentals follow a separate bed-and-breakfast classification.
New non-owner-occupied STVRs in designated Downtown and Victorian residential areas face a 20% residential-parcel cap by ward. Owner-occupied parcels are exempt from that cap; eligibility still needs checking. A ward is not the same thing as a building, bedroom or citywide unit count.
The city lists a $400 new application fee and $250 annual renewal fee, both nonrefundable. Its upgraded registration portal began September 28, 2026. Use the official portal link rather than an obsolete application bookmark.
Source: Savannah’s current application fees, overlay and ward-cap summary.
Ask for the parcel’s ward, current cap status and applicable owner-occupied definition. A percentage calculation alone cannot establish an available permit.
Savannah operating conditions belong in the guest agreement
Savannah caps occupancy at four adults in dwellings with no more than two bedrooms, or two adults per bedroom for three or more bedrooms. The zoning administrator verifies bedrooms. Insurance evidence must identify STR use, and occupants acknowledge parking and occupancy rules.
Prepare the required exemplar rental agreement and display it in the property. Ask the city which notification and advertising documents apply to your application.
Source: Savannah operating and application regulations.
Keep the approved bedroom count with the certificate. Adding beds in a living room does not establish a larger legally approved guest capacity.
Tybee Island: separate 2026 licensing from the 2027 transition
Tybee’s official page says the city revised its STR ordinances in August 2026 and will implement a new permitting process in 2027. As checked October 18, it directs eligible properties to a 2026 license application and says further process information will be posted.
For a purchase or renewal, ask the city to confirm present zoning eligibility, any existing-use protection, transfer treatment and the forthcoming process. This guide does not assign an unverified 2027 fee or assume an old residential-zone exception survives a sale.
The same page lists a 7% local Occupational Room Tax, with payment by the 20th of the following month and monthly returns even when no tax is due. Confirm channel collection evidence with city Finance.
Source: Tybee’s current transition notice and local room-tax instructions.
Georgia’s state nightly fee is different from percentage taxes
Under Rule 560-13-2-.01, an innkeeper generally charges $5 per night for an accommodation, subject to exemptions. Direct operators’ innkeeper status depends on the rule’s local licensing or business/occupation-tax definition. A qualifying marketplace innkeeper owes the fee on facilitated stays even if the underlying owner is not an innkeeper.
For continuous occupancy by the same customer, the first 30 nights remain subject to the fee; the extended-stay exclusion begins on day 31. Do not apply that fee boundary automatically to sales tax or a local hotel tax.
Source: Georgia’s current state hotel-motel fee rule.
State/local sales tax and local hotel-motel excise tax have separate bases, exemptions and collectors. Register for the applicable accounts for direct bookings and verify marketplace remittance by tax type. A marketplace’s state-fee payment does not itself prove a city-tax payment.
A Savannah booking needs more than one tax line
Savannah lists an 8% local hotel-motel tax, effective September 1, 2023, and a return/payment deadline of the 20th of the next month. Verify the current sales-tax rate separately with DOR rather than describing a combined county rate as Georgia’s statewide rate.
Source: Savannah’s local tax instructions.
- Savannah hotel-motel tax · $600 × 8%
- $48
- State fee · 3 nights × $5
- $15
- Subtotal of these two items
- $63
Assumes the provider is an innkeeper, no exemption, one accommodation and $600 is the full local-tax base before taxes. Sales tax, other taxable fees and platform charges are excluded, so $63 is not total guest tax. Determine who collects each line before quoting a direct-booking price.
Keep separate columns for the collector, return and payment proof. When a platform remits one item, retain the evidence instead of paying it twice or assuming it covers the other items.
Savannah certificate transfer and grandfathering are different
Savannah says certificates are nontransferable. Its grandfathering guidance nevertheless provides a specific cap-related protection for a new application after a title transfer involving a qualifying pre-existing certificate, if the buyer applies within six months. This is a new application, not a transferred certificate.
Source: Savannah certificate-transfer and grandfathering instructions.
Have the city verify the original certificate’s date, the proposed title transfer and the exception before relying on it. Other new applications remain subject to the relevant cap. Do not assume a six-month rule applies to Atlanta or Tybee.
Does a seller’s revenue establish the buyer’s permission?
No. Verify the buyer’s ownership, residence, certificate and zoning position independently. Keep future bookings conditional until those questions are resolved.
What should be in the renewal calendar?
Record the local certificate expiration, insurance renewal, tax filing dates, contact changes and any ownership-change deadline. Atlanta’s 12-month license and Savannah’s annual renewal are separate programs.
Free Georgia purchase-handoff worksheet
Collect the seller’s certificate date, parcel and ward, transfer deadline, local written determination and channel-by-channel tax responsibilities before relying on existing bookings.
Open the printable Georgia worksheetFree, with no account or email. Open it, then print or save as PDF. This is a manual worksheet; it does not submit your information, calculate automatically or determine legal eligibility.
Local guides and next steps
City pages below retain their own source dates. This state review covers the selected jurisdictions discussed above; it does not reapprove every city entry.
Once the use is permitted, compare a longer-term rental scenario with the single-family rental calculator. Supply documented rent and expenses; its long-term model does not forecast vacation bookings. Return to the state-law directory to compare another jurisdiction.
Published by RentalCalcs. Primary sources are linked beside the relevant claims. General information, not an address-specific legal or tax determination. Report a correction.