Atlanta Councilmember Winston Submits Revised STR Ordinance

Atlanta City Hall

Atlanta hosts will remember the confusion and outrage way back in 2022 when the City launched its effort to enforce the STR Ordinance that limited licenses to Atlanta residents for their primary residence and one additional unit.

It's hard to believe that Atlanta's current Short Term Rental Ordinance has been on hold since April 2022 when AMSTRA challenged the legality of the Ordinance's residency requirement. The Planning Department subsequent efforts to enact new restrictions failed miserably.

But Short Term Rentals are back on Atlanta's legislative calendar! Councilmember Jason Winston (District 1) has stepped forward with a proposed revised ordinance that repeals all restrictions and requirements in the current ordinance and simply requires that STR owners and operators obtain a business license and that guests continue to pay state and local sales and hotel-motel taxes.

CM Winston's legislation argues that increased revenues from business license fees will benefit the residents of Atlanta and could fund efforts to reduce homelessness. Business license fees are calculated based on gross revenue and the number of employees. Click here for more information on business licenses.

This legislation will be considered at the next meeting of the Community Development/Human Resources Committee (CDHS) on Tuesday, September 10th at 1:30 pm at City Hall. We encourage STR owners and operators to attend and support the legislation.

To read CM Winston's proposed Ordinance, click here and go to page 113.

Follow this post! We will be updating this post with the latest news, comments and insights on CM Winston's proposed revisions to the STR Ordinance as it proceeds through the legislative process. Ask questions and express your opinions in the Comments section of this post. #1 Update Sept.10th 4:50 pm - The CDHS Committee voted to hold the "paper" (inside talk for the proposed revised ordinance) in Committee to discuss the matter further. It will be on the Committee's agenda for the next regularly scheduled meeting on September 24th at 1:30 p.m. We believe this is a positive development.

#2 Update October 11th 6:47 am - The proposed revised STR ordinance comes before the CDHS Committee for the second time on Tuesday, October 15th at 1:30 pm. See our latest blog post for more information.