Clayton County, GA Short-Term Rentals: Host Platform Liability (2026)

Section 22-903, added by Ordinance No. 2019-102 on August 20, 2019, treats the owner, the hosting platform, and any property manager as equally responsible for short-term rental violations. On request from the chief of police or the director of the community development department, the county attorney can send a cease-and-desist notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, ordering the owner, platform, or manager to stop the violating activity. The code spells out exactly when that notice takes legal effect: immediately if hand-delivered, on the date shown on the receipt if sent overnight, or three days after mailing (or the return-receipt delivery date, whichever comes first) if sent by certified or registered mail.

Beyond the cease-and-desist letter, § 22-903(b) authorizes the county attorney to go to court and file an injunction against any owner, platform or manager operating a short-term rental unit without the valid county business license required by § 22-901(b) and issued by the Clayton County Department of Community Development. That reach matters because § 22-901(b) already requires the license number to appear in every advertisement, so a listing on a national booking platform that omits it, or that a platform continues to host after a cease-and-desist notice, exposes both the host and the platform itself to the injunction remedy, not just the individual property owner. The remedies in § 22-903 apply 'in addition to the other remedies under this article,' meaning they stack on top of the license revocation and permit-denial powers in § 22-902 rather than replacing them.