Atlanta debating how to regulate short-term rental industry

Local News

Atlanta debating how to regulate short-term rental industry

PHOTOS: The stage is set for an intense debate about curtailing an industry so lucrative that some Atlanta developers have built homes for the sole purpose of short-term-rental use.

Dennis Tidwell builds homes in Home Park solely for short-term rentals for groups and families. (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

The neighborhood is debating how to regulate these rentals while Tidwell puts in extra parking, sound monitors which alert him when guests get too loud and other measures to lessen concerns. (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-onstitution)

Tidwell has built seven homes in the Home Park community and is working on adding two more. (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

The debate over short rentals has evolved into one about property rights, potential legal battles, affordable housing, and the resentment of some residents who feel corporations are invading their neighborhoods with properties that become a detriment to the community. -- Stephen Deere, AJC

“They are not vested in the community, so they just don’t care,” said Kathy Boehmer, president of the Home Park Community Association. “There is a proliferation ... that is driving up rents and negatively impacting affordable housing, while also having significant negative impact on our quality of life.” -- Stephen Deere, AJC

The pending question: How stringently will the Atlanta City Council regulate the budding industry? -- Stephen Deere, AJC

“I think it's wildly improper to rely on the short-term industry to regulate themselves,” said City Councilman Howard Shook. He drafted legislation that would ban them in all single-family residential neighborhoods.-- Stephen Deere, AJC

Councilmen Andre Dickens and Matt Westmoreland have drafted a competing, less onerous ordinance with input from Airbnb, property owners and residents critical of the short-term rental industry. -- Stephen Deere, AJC

It would require short-term rental owners to apply for certificates, obtain a business license if they own more than three such properties and pay an 8-percent tax. -- Stephen Deere, AJC

“I think banning them outright is too aggressive, partly because millions of people visit Atlanta each year,” Westmoreland said. -- Stephen Deere, AJC

Dennis Tidwell, founding owner of Rockethouse Design+Build, has for two years built houses in Home Park for the sole purpose of renting them out on a short-term basis. The neighborhood sits within a 3-mile radius of all the city’s main attractions. The first he built for a friend grossed $20,000 in its first month on the market, he said: “I saw how well it did and it made me want to do them everywhere." -- Stephen Deere, AJC

“I sell this city to all of our guests,” Tidwell said. “I love this city. I love Home Park. I share the best spots and help guests discover Atlanta like a local.” -- Stephen Deere, AJC

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Dennis Tidwell builds homes in Home Park solely for short-term rentals for groups and families. (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

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