Cobb County, GA Rental Inspections: Inspection Programs (2026)

Cobb County created the Multifamily Rental Housing Inspection Program in Article XIV of Chapter 18, covering apartment complexes, boardinghouses, rooming houses, group homes and other multifamily rental dwellings in the unincorporated area only; Marietta, Smyrna, Kennesaw, Acworth, Powder Springs and Austell run their own housing codes. Under section 18-365(a), an owner who owes occupational tax under section 78-31 cannot obtain a business registration certificate without first filing a code compliance certificate showing a certified building inspector verified compliance in at least 25 percent of the complex's units within the preceding 12 months.

New construction is exempt for its first year if the county issued proper permits. If the initial inspection turns up work needed to meet minimum standards, section 18-365(b) lets the chief building official approve a remediation plan and grant an extension of up to one year, except that any unit with a life-safety violation cannot be leased until it is fixed. Starting with the January 1, 2024 business license renewal, owners must recertify annually: interiors again at 25 percent of units, with every unit reached at least once every four years, and exteriors at 100 percent of common areas (drainage, exterior walls, roofs, parking lots, abandoned vehicles, graffiti) inspected once a year under the IPMC.

Owners and certified building inspectors must keep written records of every inspection and produce them to the county within ten business days of a written request; missing that deadline voids the certificate for the affected units. Certified building inspectors must be a licensed architect or engineer, or hold an ICC credential such as property maintenance and housing inspector, and must be pre-approved onto the county's inspector list before doing any work under the program, per section 18-368.