Athens

Operating rules

Primary residence

conditional

Min stay (nights)

—

Max nights / year

—

Max occupancy

No numeric occupancy cap in the ordinance. For commercial STRs the maximum number of guests is set by state or ACC officials (Fire Marshal or Chief Building Official) and must be disclosed in writing to renters. The home occupation application asks the applicant to state the 'Maximum number of occupants anticipated'. Additional occupancy via recreational vehicles, tents or accessory structures is prohibited except at legally permitted accessory dwelling units or guest houses.

Zoning-restricted

Yes

Cap on licenses

—

Grandfathering: yes

Zoning: Zoning is the binding constraint. COMMERCIAL STR: 'N' (not permitted) in ALL single-family residential districts (RS-40, RS-25, RS-15, RS-8, RS-5) since Feb 6, 2024; 'N' in ALL Mixed Density Residential districts (RM-1, RM-2, RM-3) and in Employment-Industrial (E-I) since the Dec 2, 2025 amendment (previously 'S', special use). Permitted 'P' in C-G, C-D, C-O, C-N, C-R and E-O; permitted 'P, L(9)' in AR since Dec 2, 2025 (previously 'S'), but L(9) provides commercial STRs are 'not permitted in an AR neighborhood' as defined in Sec. 9-15-18. HOME OCCUPATION STR: 'P' in AR, RS-40/25/15/8/5, RM-1/2/3 (with footnote L(9)), C-G/C-D/C-O/C-N/C-R (with footnote L(17)) and E-O (with footnote L(9)). In RM, C and E-O districts footnotes L(9)/L(17) allow 'one accommodation per dwelling unit or guest house ... provided however, that each dwelling unit or guest house must be occupied by an owner-occupant or primary resident.' Since Dec 2, 2025, the principal-structure-or-accessory-structure option in Sec. 9-15-16(O)(7) is limited to 'the AR and RS zones'. Unless otherwise expressly permitted in a particular zoning district, an STR 'shall consist of no more than one individual accommodation per parcel'.

• GRANDFATHERING: Properties identified as having operated as an STR at some point during the twelve (12) months prior to September 19, 2023 (i.e., Sept 19, 2022 – Sept 19, 2023) qualify for the 'Legal Non-Conforming STR List'. Initial list posted July 1, 2024; six-month public review July 1 – December 31, 2024 for additions; FINAL LIST PUBLISHED MARCH 1, 2025. ACC reports the final list was last updated April 1, 2026.
• SUNSET: The June 2025 amendment (adopted June 3, 2025; approved by the Mayor June 6, 2025) extended the sunset from 24 to 60 months measured from March 1, 2025 — i.e., legal non-conforming STR status expires on or about MARCH 1, 2030. Verbatim: 'the legal non-conforming status of an identified STR use that is included on the final Legal Non-Conforming STR List shall be permitted to continue for a period of sixty (60) months, as measured from March 1, 2025 (i.e., the date of publication for the final Legal Non-Conforming STR List), after which time all legal non-conforming STR uses shall be null and void.'
• CONFLICT / STALE PUBLISHED TEXT: ACC's own STR webpage still states listed properties 'must come into compliance with the STR Ordinance within 24 months as measured from March 1, 2025', and Municode's CODIFIED Sec. 9-15-28 still carries only the Feb 6, 2024 history note '(Ord. of 2-6-2024(3))' and the original 24-month language, with no Sec. 9-15-29 present. Both 2025 amendments are listed by Municode as 'uncodified'. The adopted ordinance (60 months) controls over the stale webpage and the not-yet-updated codification.
• SUNSET EXTENSION: New Sec. 9-15-29 allows a case-by-case extension beyond 60 months only where the owner demonstrates by a preponderance of the evidence that they cannot feasibly recoup their investment within the sunset period, using a prescribed 16-step payback methodology ('Years of relief = implied STR in-service payback period based on investment – years parcel has been used as an STR'). Application must be filed no later than 180 days before the sunset expires and no earlier than after the first 24 months of the sunset period; late filing = automatic denial. Determinations are appealable to the ACC Administrative Hearing Officer within 14 calendar days.
• LOSS OF NON-CONFORMING STATUS: void upon sale or other conveyance of the parcel; void upon abandonment of the use for 12 consecutive months. A change of 30% or more in the ownership of the voting stock/equity interest of a business entity owning the parcel, and any change in a beneficial interest in an owning trust, each count as a conveyance (does not apply to publicly traded entities).
• PRIMARY RESIDENCE: required for the home occupation STR pathway — 'an owner-occupant is a person who is an owner of record of a parcel and occupies the parcel as the person's primary residence.' A long-term tenant may also apply with the owner's written permission. Not required for commercial STRs, which are confined to AR (outside AR neighborhoods), commercial and E-O districts.
• ONE STRUCTURE PER PARCEL (home occupation): 'only one structure on the same parcel may be utilized as a short-term rental at any given time.' A portion or the entirety of the structure may be used, notwithstanding the default 25% floor-area limit on home occupations.
• MAX STAY (not a minimum): the STR definition covers stays of 'less than 31 consecutive days'; the home occupation application requires acknowledgement that 'no individual Short-Term Rental shall have an occupancy duration in excess of 30 consecutive days'. There is no minimum-stay requirement and no annual night cap.
• PARKING: the June 2025 amendment replaced the codified one-car-per-bedroom rule with 'Parking for commercial STRs must meet all applicable standards of section 9-30-2 of the Code of Athens-Clarke County, Georgia.' (The still-codified Feb 2024 text reads: 'There shall be a maximum of one car per bedroom plus two additional spaces for management and/or guest parking.') Home occupation STRs: 'No on-street parking of business-related vehicles, including occupants of a STR, shall be permitted at any time.'
• NO SIGNAGE: home occupation STRs must acknowledge 'there shall be no signs on the property advertising the Short-Term Rental'.
• NO NUMERIC CAP on the number of STR licenses/permits was found in the ordinance; the effective limit is zoning-based (commercial STRs excluded from all RS and RM districts).
• SPECIAL USE PERMITS: the Dec 2, 2025 amendment removed 'S' (special use) status for commercial STRs in RM and E-I and made AR by-right, and amended Sec. 9-15-28(c)(2) so that an STR 'allowed as a special use or ... approved as a special use prior to [date certain]' remains a conforming use while its special use permit is unexpired. The ordinance directs the Clerk of Commission to replace '[date certain]' with the ordinance's effective date in the codified version; that codified date could not be confirmed because the amendment is not yet codified.

Enforcement

Active enforcement

yes

Fines

STR rules sit in Title 9 (Zoning). Sec. 9-22-8 makes any Title 9 violation punishable as prescribed in Sec. 1-1-5, which sets a fine not to exceed $1,000.00 or imprisonment up to six months, or any combination — with each day a violation continues constituting a separate offense. Operating a home occupation STR without a permit is expressly 'unlawful'. Any use maintained contrary to Title 9 is additionally declared a public nuisance subject to abatement/injunction by the ACC Attorney.

Notes

Enforcement is demonstrably active and administratively driven rather than citation-driven: ACC built and published the Legal Non-Conforming STR List (initial July 1, 2024; final March 1, 2025; last updated April 1, 2026), runs a defined compliance pathway, removes properties from the list as they come into compliance, and voids non-conforming status on sale or 12-month abandonment. Complaints may be initiated by written complaint from an affected citizen, by any ACC departmental official responsible for enforcement, or by the Mayor or County Attorney. The 60-month sunset (expiring on or about March 1, 2030) is itself the principal enforcement mechanism against non-conforming commercial STRs. No STR-specific fine schedule or published penalty figure was found — the general Title 9 penalty applies.