Walton County, GA Short-Term Rentals: Host Presence Rule (2026)

Section 6-1-840 of the Land Development Ordinance requires every short-term rental to designate a local property manager or local contact person as one of its operating conditions. That person must be available twenty-four hours a day to respond to tenant and neighborhood questions or concerns, and if the property owner lives in the same community as the rental, the owner may serve as the local contact rather than hiring someone separate. The name, address and telephone number of the local contact must be submitted to the Walton County Planning and Development Department, the Walton County Sheriff's Office, and the Walton County Fire Department, and also delivered to property owners located within a 300-foot radius of the rental.

That contact information must be permanently posted inside the rental unit in a prominent location, and any change to the contact's address or phone number has to be promptly reported to each of those same agencies and neighboring property owners. If the local contact person is unavailable or fails to respond, the ordinance directs the complaining or questioning party to contact the Walton County Sheriff's Office, which will then attempt to reach the local contact directly. The requirement functions as the county's mechanism for ensuring someone is reachable around the clock to handle problems at a short-term rental, since the owner or operator may not be on-site or even nearby.