South Fulton

City limits and mailing address

Fulton County lists South Fulton as its own city, alongside Atlanta, College Park, Fairburn and Union City, and says each city provides municipal services to its community.[11] A home inside South Fulton can still carry an Atlanta mailing address: the city's own tax return form writes its office address once as Atlanta, GA and once as South Fulton, GA.[6] Inside city limits, South Fulton's rules apply, not Atlanta's, so don't go by the mailing address alone.[1, 11]

Permit

It's unlawful to operate or rent a short-term rental without first getting a city short-term rental permit.[1] A short-term rental is a residential dwelling unit, of any housing type, provided to paying guests for lodging for no more than 30 consecutive days.[1] The city says the permit process it started in 2025 replaced the special use permit that owners used to need.[2]

The application carries a non-refundable $200 fee, and the city says it sends an invoice after intake approves the application and takes payment online only.[1, 2, 3] Permits expire on Dec 30 of the year approved, and renewal takes a city form and another non-refundable $200 fee.[1] A separate application is needed for each dwelling unit used as a short-term rental.[3]

Who applies

The chapter issues permits to owners or registered agents, and it defines the owner as whoever holds lawful title, which may include any authorized agent of the title holder.[1] The city's form is signed by the property owner or agent, and the application needs proof of the owner's current ownership of the unit.[1, 3] We found no line that names a tenant as an applicant, so plan on the landlord applying, and ask the city whether a tenant can act as the owner's authorized agent.[1, 3]

A permit can't be transferred or assigned, or used by anyone other than the person it was issued to or at any other location.[1]

Application papers

The application is made under oath and lists the owner of record, the unit's address, the agent's 24-hour contact details and the number and location of the parking spaces.[1] Attach the sworn code compliance verification form, the written agreement form for guests, proof of ownership, proof of at least $500,000 in liability insurance and the agent's written certification.[1] The city's checklist also asks for a parking plan and a floor plan of the home, and says the sworn form must be notarized.[3]

The owner and agent must give an affidavit that all laws and any homeowner's or property owner's association rules are being followed.[1] A location with a history of past violations considered nuisance behavior is ineligible for a permit.[1]

Neighbor notice and timing

You post a notice sign in a conspicuous place on the property for at least 15 days before a permit is issued.[1, 3] You also mail or hand deliver notice to all owners of property within 300 feet at least 15 days ahead, and the city asks for proof.[1, 3] Public comments go to the city's Community Development and Regulatory Affairs Department, are forwarded to you and become part of the application file.[1, 3]

The city reviews a complete application within 45 days after the notice steps are met, and its packet says the whole process takes at least 60 days.[1, 3] The city manager or a designee decides, and the chapter says a permit shall be granted unless the applicant fails its requirements or fails to show the ability to comply with the law.[1]

Business license

The permit doesn't replace the city's occupation tax certificate, which the chapter says is still required.[1] The city's packet says you apply for the certificate once your information is processed, and the short-term rental permit is issued when you give the city a copy of it.[3] Business licenses run Jan 1 through Dec 31 with a Mar 31 renewal deadline, and all applications are made online.[7]

The city says the business license process may take 60 to 90 days depending on workload.[7] Its Business License page doesn't state the certificate's cost.[7]

Zoning

The city's permit page says short-term rentals are only allowed in residential zoning districts.[2] A 2022 ordinance had limited them to a list of named zoning districts and required a special use permit, and the council repealed that ordinance in its entirety on Aug 12, 2025.[4, 13] We could not read the zoning ordinance's own text, so confirm the home's zoning district with the city, whose Zoning Ordinance page links a property viewer that shows a property's zoning.[12]

Agent and the 45-minute rule

Every permit names one short-term rental agent, who can be the property owner or another person over age 18.[1] The agent must be available and responsive at all times and be customarily present at a location within the city for transacting business.[1] On the city's request, the agent must appear at the home within 45 minutes of being notified of issues with its use or occupancy, such as noise, disorderly conduct or overcrowding.[1]

Failing to appear on time for two or more complaints may be grounds for penalties.[1] The agent also accepts service of violation notices and monitors the home for compliance with the chapter.[1] Only one agent can serve a property at a time, and a change takes written notice to the city.[1]

Posting and listings

Post a legible copy of the permit inside the unit with the agent's name, address, phone number and email, the permit number, the maximum occupancy and the maximum number of vehicles that may be parked there.[1] The city's packet says the occupation tax certificate must be posted with it in a conspicuous place.[3] Every print, digital or internet ad and every listing must show the permit number.[1]

Occupancy and parking

We found no occupancy number or vehicle count in the chapter, but the posted permit must state the maximum for each.[1] The city's example guest agreement says guests must not exceed the listed occupancy or the maximum parking allotted to the property, and must park only in designated places.[3]

Guest agreement, noise and trash

The owner uses a written agreement in which guests agree to follow the chapter and the city's noise ordinance, and which says a violation may mean immediate termination, eviction and liability for fines.[1] The city's example agreement asks guests to observe quiet times between 9pm and 8am.[3] It also says household trash and recycling go in the property's collection carts and laundry must not be hung outside.[3]

Inspections and upkeep

The owner must keep the unit properly maintained and inspect it regularly so it keeps meeting zoning, building, health and life safety codes.[1] No one may allow a unit to be occupied while the premises violate any of those codes.[1] On the city's sworn form, the owner acknowledges the residence was not designed, constructed or inspected as a commercial lodging establishment.[3]

The city's flow chart says the business license is issued with the permit after required inspections are approved and fees are paid.[3] The Business License page says fire inspections are required for all businesses, but not for home-based businesses unless patrons visit the home.[7] Ask the city which inspections apply to your unit.[3, 7]

Parties

A nuisance party is a gathering of five or more people at a home used or advertised as a short-term rental that results in any of 16 listed problems, among them noise violations, property damage, littering and parking that blocks traffic.[1] It's unlawful for the agent, a guest or anyone with the right to use the home to let a gathering become one.[1] The agent is responsible only when on the premises, when told of it by police or another official and failing to act, or when the agent knew or should have known.[1]

Sales tax

Georgia's October 2026 rate chart lists Fulton County outside of Atlanta, Hapeville, College Park and East Point at 7.75%, and the state's 4% is included.[8] Anyone who rents a room or home to transients, including owners of private residences and their rental agents, counts as a retailer for sales tax.[9] The tax doesn't apply to accommodations supplied to one person for 90 continuous days or more.[9]

The same chart lists a separate 8.9% rate for the part of Fulton County inside Atlanta.[8]

City hotel-motel tax

The short-term rental chapter makes owners liable for state sales tax and city taxes, including all hotel-motel tax requirements and reporting.[1] The city's return form sets the tax at 8% of the charges for accommodation, and the city labels that form as its hotel-motel and short-term rental occupancy tax return.[5, 6] The tax is due to the city on or before the 20th of each month for the month before, with a completed return.[5, 6]

Pay on or before the 20th and you may keep 3% of the tax collected as a vendor's credit.[5, 6] A late payment loses the credit and adds a penalty of 10% of the tax plus interest of 1% of the tax.[5, 6] Neither the city's tax page nor its form says whether a booking platform files this tax for you, so ask the city's Finance Department.[5, 6]

State hotel-motel fee

Georgia charges a $5 per night state hotel-motel fee for each night a room is rented.[10] The marketplace innkeeper, usually an online booking platform, collects and remits it, and a host who lists through one doesn't collect it.[10] The fee stops on the 31st day of continuous occupancy.[10]

Fines

Violations of the chapter carry fines that may not be waived or reduced: $500 for a first violation, $750 for a second within the preceding 12 months, and $1,000 for a third or later one within the preceding 12 months.[1] Each date of rental is a separate violation.[1] The city says operating without a valid permit may bring fines, penalties or suspension of rental activity.[2]

Revocation

The city keeps a record of code violation charges, founded accusations and convictions for each short-term rental.[1] When an owner accumulates three code violations for one property within 12 consecutive months, the city revokes any issued permit and rejects all applications for that property for 12 consecutive months.[1] Any nuisance party violation is grounds for immediate revocation, and failing to appear for a nuisance party citation counts as a sustained violation.[1]

An owner cited and found in violation of a zoning, building, health or life safety code must show compliance before being eligible for a permit.[1] False statements on an application are grounds for revocation, suspension, penalties and denial of future applications.[1] The city says repeated violations could lead to denial of future applications.[2]

Advertising

It's unlawful to advertise a short-term rental that has no permit, or to advertise one without its current permit number.[1]

Appeals

You can appeal a revocation, suspension or denial to the city manager or a designated hearing officer in writing within 30 calendar days, and a timely appeal puts the action on hold until a decision.[1] The appeal is considered within 30 days, and a written decision follows within five days of the hearing.[1] After that, the next step is a petition for a writ of certiorari in Fulton County Superior Court.[1]