COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Cobb county is looking to crack down on short term rentals.
These are rentals lasting 30 days or less – think Airbnb or other similar online services.
The proposal comes after Cobb County District 2 Commissioner Bob Ott suggested that those short-term rentals have become a headache for residents in the area.
“We had one where they rented it out for a music video, or, you know, just renting it out for a big party, and then there are all the cars on the street and the neighborhood,” Ott explained. “It’s just not built for that.”
If Cobb passes a new county code on the issue, it could mean an application fee, a business license and, in some cases, a hotel or motel tax fee to be paid to the county for people renting out their place.
“It's not designed to be a money-maker,” Ott said. “Any fees would be simply to cover the cost of the consultant or the employees you'd have to hire to manage the program. It's really not looked at as revenue generating function.”
With Super Bowl LIII months away, hotels are nearly booked. So, these short-term rentals would come in handy not just for visitors, but also homeowners to make some extra money.
But fear not: “The good news for them is that we're not going to even talk about until January,” reasoned Bob Weatherford, another county commissioner. “If put in effect, it will be months or two months later, so the Super Bowl would be long gone.”
Cobb County would not be the first to propose something like this. Ordinances like it are already in effect in other cities like Savannah and Woodstock. Short-term rentals are completely banned in New York City and south of us, in New Orleans’ French Quarter.
