Stonecrest, GA Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)

Article XIII of chapter 15 sets Stonecrest's habitability floor for rental housing. Section 15-13-1 defines a multifamily rental dwelling as any dwelling with more than one leased unit, including apartments, duplexes, triplexes, boardinghouses and group homes. Section 15-13-2 puts the City Manager in charge of certifying independent building inspectors, who must hold an architect, engineer, or International Code Council credential and cannot be employed by or affiliated with the owner or occupant being inspected; using an inspector who did not personally perform the inspection nullifies the resulting certificate.

Section 15-13-3 makes it unlawful, effective January 1, 2019, to lease a multifamily rental unit without a compliance certificate. Owners who receive income from four or more units and maintain a Stonecrest business location under O.C.G.A. § 48-13-5 must file certificates covering 100 percent of their units with their first business occupation tax return, then annually inspect and certify at least 20 percent of units each year with every unit inspected at least once every five years, listing each inspected unit individually. If an inspector finds work is needed to meet minimum Code standards, the building official may accept a repair plan and grant up to six months to complete it, except that units with life-or-safety issues cannot be leased until compliant and get no extension.

Owners and inspectors must keep written inspection records for five years and produce them within ten business days of a written request; failing to produce them nullifies the certificate. New construction is exempt from the article for five years after its certificate of occupancy issues. Under section 15-13-4, the city withholds the business occupation tax certificate until a compliance certificate is filed, and an owner or inspector who knowingly files a false certificate is guilty of a separate violation for each falsely certified unit.