Bartow County, GA Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)
Key Facts
- Code adopted
- International Property Maintenance Code, GA amendments
- Covers
- All property, buildings, and structures countywide
- Enforcement fees
- No fees assessed, § 103.5
- Maximum fine
- $1,000.00 per offense, per day
- Code official
- Zoning Administrator / Community Development
- Appeals to
- Construction Board of Adjustment and Appeals
- Citation
- Bartow County Code § 18-600
Summary
Bartow County has adopted the International Property Maintenance Code, with Georgia amendments, as its Property Maintenance Code under Code § 18-600, setting minimum conditions every property, building, and structure, including rental housing, must meet to be safe, sanitary, and fit for occupancy. Violations carry a fine of up to $1,000.00 per offense, per day.
This Code is hereby adopted as the Property Maintenance Code of Bartow County for regulating and governing the conditions and maintenance of all property, buildings, and structures; by providing the standards for supplied utilities and facilities and other physical things and conditions essential to ensure that structures are safe, sanitary and fit for occupation and use; and the condemnation of buildings and structures unfit for human occupancy and use, and the demolition of such existing structures as herein provided; providing for the issuance of permits and collection of fees therefor ... Section 103.5 NO FEES ARE ASSESSED ... Section 10 ... 6.4 The following sentence is added at the end of the existing paragraph: "The maximum fine shall be $1000.00 per offense, per day."
Full Breakdown
Bartow County Code § 18-600 adopts the International Property Maintenance Code (ICC), the current edition with Georgia amendments, as the county's Property Maintenance Code, governing the conditions and maintenance of all property, buildings, and structures in unincorporated Bartow County, including the standards for supplied utilities, facilities, and physical conditions needed to keep a structure safe, sanitary, and fit for occupation and use, and the process for condemning and demolishing structures unfit for human occupancy. 4). The county also adopted the IPMC's Appendix A, the Boarding Standard, for securing vacant or unsafe structures.
Because the adopted code governs 'all property, buildings, and structures,' it sets the baseline habitability and maintenance standard for rental housing in unincorporated Bartow County, separate from the short-term rental-specific maintenance clause in § 18-133(b)(6), which layers the same IPMC requirement onto short-term rental properties specifically.
Violations & Fines
A property, building, or structure found out of compliance with the adopted International Property Maintenance Code under § 18-600 is subject to a fine of up to $1,000.00 per offense, per day, under the county's amendment to IPMC § 106.4. The county may seek an inspection warrant from magistrate court under amended § 104.3 if the owner won't allow voluntary compliance, and appeals of a code official's order go to the Construction Board of Adjustment and Appeals under § 111.1.
Frequently Asked Questions
What habitability standard applies to rental housing in unincorporated Bartow County?
Does the county charge a fee to investigate a property maintenance complaint?
How large can a fine be for a property maintenance violation?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bartow County
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