Individuals seeking to rent their property on a short-term basis in coastal Georgia’s Glynn County must now meet additional requirements or face penalties imposed by the local government.
The Glynn County short-term rental (STR) ordinance took effect on July 1 in hopes of creating “a level playing field for all rentals in Glynn County” regardless of whether they are individually-owned and operated or a part of a hotel chain. The ordinance, which applies to any rental for periods of less than 30 consecutive days, also seeks to set uniform rules for noise, parking, trash, and accommodation taxes.
Text of the Ordinance
Glynn County’s ordinance requires landlords to register with the county by October 1, 2021, annually obtain a license, and pay accomodation excise taxes. If a landlord has six or more rental properties, he or she is required to visit the Occupation Tax Office in person for an Occupational Tax Certificate, or a business license.
The application fee each year is $150 per short-term rental if filed by July 1, with a $75 fee added on if filed after July 1.
All rentals must also assess a state sales tax of 6% on a rental less than 90 days long, a 5% local tax to match the ‘hotel/motel bed tax, and a $5 State Transportation Excise tax of $5 per night, the latter of which is a result of the state legislature adopting a measure to require the collection of the $5 per night fee.
The ordinance does not apply to property owners on Jekyll Island or in the City of Brunswick.
The 17-page ordinance adopted by the Board of Commissioners also regulates a number of line items for rentals, such as:
- Requirement of working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in every bedroom and on all habitable floors and properly maintained and charged fire extinguishers,
- Requirement of solid waste collections services that remove waste at least once per week with containers that are secured outside, but are not placed on the curb for more than 24 hours ahead of the pick-up
- Prohibition of signage for the short-term rental;
- Prohibition of more than one party of guests at the rental unit;
- Requirements for parking, complete with instructions provided prior to arrival;
- Requires a local contact with 24/hour availability for complaints, questions, etc.
- Requires license number issued by the county to be published on any and all advertising;
Violations result in a $250 fine for the first offense, $500 for the second offense in a 12-month period, and a $1,000 fine for the third and any subsequent offense.
Every day that a short-term rental is advertised outside of the ordinance standards, the property owner is subject to a $1,000 fine.
You can read the full ordinance here.
Enforcement
The county has contracted with a compliance company, LodgingRevs, to provide “cloud based computer software and services for the monitoring, enforcement, support, and administration” of short-term rentals that are currently on the market through a variety of rental sites such as AirBnB and VRBO. LodgingRevs uses an algorithm to identify properties on rental sites within Glynn County and takes steps to bring them into compliance with the ordinance. The company is based in Colorado.
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