Cobb County commissioners are once again considering regulations to address the issues some community members have faced with short-term rental properties.
At Tuesday’s work session, the board discussed how to fine-tune the proposed ordinance, including potentially adding land use restrictions and language to ban the rentals from being advertised and used as party houses.
Short-term rentals are housing units — from an entire house or a basement to a single bedroom — rented for 30 days or less. The listings are often advertised on sites like Airbnb and VRBO to be used as temporary stays, often used for those traveling to the area.
Several commissioners said they are concerned about excessive partying taking place in residential areas.
“They are there on vacation, and when you’re on vacation, you vacation, whatever that may be, whether it’s parties, etc.,” Commissioner Monique Sheffield said. “And there are some landlords or owners that rent exclusively for parties.”
The proposed code amendment would require short-term rental owners to get a certificate of occupancy, disclose the number of parking spaces available and designate a local agent that can be contacted by the county to address any complaints or issues. It would also limit the number of guests to one adult per 390 square feet and require any advertising to include the maximum number of occupants and vehicles allowed.
“Parking is certainly an issue,” Sheffield said. “And while we’ll have restrictions in the code for short-term rentals, I’m not very confident that people are really, necessarily going to abide by them.”
The county’s enforcement of the regulations would rely on complaints. Neighbors who notice a code violation could report it to code enforcement which would then contact the rental’s designated agent to solve the issue.
Penalties start at $500 for the first violation, $750 for the second within a 12-month period, and then after the third violation, the certificate would be revoked and blocked from renewal for another 12 months.
Jessica Guinn, Cobb’s community development director, said because tenants only stay for a short time, it is often impossible for the county to hold them accountable.
“Currently, short-term rentals are here. We don’t have anything in the code to stop them. This gives us a mechanism that currently we don’t have to help reign them in,” Guinn said.
Commissioners previously postponed a vote on the ordinance in the code amendment package in February after receiving public feedback that the ordinance did too little — or, for some, too much. The ordinance was first brought to the board for consideration in 2020.
Guinn said she hopes the board will pass the ordinance quickly to give the county a way to incentivize short-term rental owners “to ensure that they’re renting to people who are going to come and act right in the neighborhood and be good neighbors.”
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