Barrow County, GA HOA Rules: CC&R Enforcement (2026)

Section 26-151, the applicability section of the county's short-term rental article in Chapter 26, addresses the overlap between county permitting and private homeowners association rules head-on. It states that the county's allowance of short-term rentals under its own permit process does not prevent private enforcement of additional restrictions found in restrictive covenants or other private contractual agreements, and just as pointedly says Barrow County itself will not take responsibility for enforcing those private covenants or arrangements. The county does fold HOA status into its own permit paperwork, though: a short-term rental permit applicant must submit a written statement from the homeowners association confirming its bylaws do not prohibit short-term rentals where one exists, and must notify the county in writing if the HOA later amends its bylaws to prohibit or restrict them.

The county can also deny or revoke a short-term rental permit under Section 26-154(a)(7)(e) if the relevant HOA provides covenants or other legal documentation preventing short-term rentals for that property. But outside that intersection with its own rental-permit process, an unincorporated Barrow County property owner facing an HOA violation notice, whether over parking, fencing, or an accessory structure, gets no help or interference from county code enforcement: covenant enforcement runs through the HOA's own governing documents and, if needed, civil court, not the county marshal or code compliance office.