Barrow County, GA Short-Term Rentals: Noise Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Quiet hours source
- Sec. 58-4, posted at the rental unit
- Audibility presumption
- Plainly audible from 50 feet is noise
- Restricted hours
- 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
- First STR noise strike
- Up to $250 fine plus written warning
- Third STR noise strike
- Up to $1,000 fine, permit revoked, 12-month ban
- Underlying misdemeanor penalty
- $250-$1,000 fine or up to 60 days jail
- Enforcement agencies
- Sheriff's Office and Code Enforcement
Summary
In unincorporated Barrow County, every short-term rental permit requires a posted notice stating the exact quiet hours under the county's noise ordinance, and the owner or local contact person must use reasonably prudent business practices to stop guests from violating that noise code. A guest's noise violation is a strike against the rental permit itself.
(1)The owner and/or local contact person shall use reasonably prudent business practices to ensure the short-term rental is used in a manner that complies with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations pertaining to the use and occupancy of the subject short-term rental, and shall further use reasonably prudent business practices to ensure the occupants and/or guests of the short-term rental do not create noise in violation of the noise regulations of this Code or disturbances, engage in disorderly conduct, or violate any applicable law, rule or regulation pertaining to the use and occupancy of the subject short-term rental. ... g.The times that quiet hours are to be observed per the noise regulations set forth in section 58-4 of this Code and a statement advising the occupant that any failure to comply with the noise regulations is a violation of this article.
Full Breakdown
Barrow County's short-term rental article (Ch. 26, Art. V) folds the county's general noise ordinance into every STR permit. Sec. 26-153(a)(1) makes the owner and/or local contact person responsible for using reasonably prudent business practices to keep occupants and guests from creating noise in violation of the noise regulations of the Code. Sec. 26-155(b)(1)g requires the posted in-unit notice, placed on or near the front door, to state the exact quiet hours under Sec. 58-4 and to warn occupants that violating those hours is itself an Article V permit violation.
Sec. on weekends. Complaints route to the Barrow County Sheriff's Office and Code Enforcement, and Sec. 26-158 lets the county direct the local contact person to respond to the property. Because the STR ordinance cross-references the noise code rather than repeating it, a Sec. 58-4 noise citation during a rental period also counts as an Article V violation under Sec. 26-157, triggering the STR permit's own suspension and revocation track on top of the underlying noise fine.
Violations & Fines
A noise citation under Sec. 58-4 is a misdemeanor: a fine of $250 to $1,000, up to 60 days in jail, or both, with each day of violation and each repeat law-enforcement response to the same incident counted separately. Under Sec. 26-157, that same incident also counts toward the STR permit's progressive scale: a first violation in 12 months draws a magistrate-court fine up to $250 and a written warning; a second draws up to $500 and a 30-to-90-day suspension; a third draws up to $1,000 and permanent revocation with a 12-month reapplication bar.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do short-term rental guests in Barrow County have to follow quiet hours?
What counts as unlawful noise under Barrow County's ordinance?
Can a noisy short-term rental lose its permit?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Barrow County
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