Under the Title 9 amendments adopted February 6, 2024, Home Occupation STRs in single-family zoning districts may operate no more than 30 nights per calendar year. Commercial STRs and STRs in non-residential zones are not subject to a night cap. Pre-existing non-owner-occupied STRs in residential zones must phase out within two years.
Athens-Clarke County's February 6, 2024 Title 9 short-term rental ordinance imposes a night cap that varies by use type. In single-family residential zoning districts, owner-occupants and long-term tenants who actually live in the home may host short-term-rental guests for no more than 30 days per calendar year — a cap designed to protect single-family-neighborhood character around the University of Georgia and historic neighborhoods such as Five Points. Commercial STRs (operated under a Special Use Permit in zones where they are allowed and processed through plans review) do not carry the 30-night cap; they may operate continuously subject to occupancy limits, parking, and life-safety requirements. The ordinance also imposed a two-year phase-out on non-owner-occupied STRs already operating in residential zones at the time of adoption: those properties may continue under the prior land-use regime for up to two years (running into early 2026) before being required to either come into compliance, convert to long-term housing, or cease STR use. Stays of 31 or more consecutive days are not STRs under the Title 9 definition and do not count toward the 30-night cap; they are treated as residential tenancies. Georgia has no statewide preemption of municipal STR night caps (HB 555 targets institutional investors and does not preempt STR ordinances), so the Athens-Clarke cap applies in full.
Hosting paid guests for more than 30 nights per calendar year in a Home Occupation STR within a single-family zone is a Title 9 violation enforceable through code court. Continuing to operate a non-owner-occupied STR in a residential zone after the two-year phase-out period likewise violates Title 9. Both can be cited by Code Enforcement and may trigger revocation of the STR approval and the Business Occupation Tax Certificate.
See how Athens's night caps rules stack up against other locations.
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