Acworth, Georgia

Short-term rentals are legal in Acworth but require registration. Before renting, an owner must obtain a Short-Term Rental Occupational Tax Certificate from the City of Acworth Development Department, along with a signed STR Affidavit and proof of compliance with the city’s zoning ordinance supplemental use regulations. The certificate must be renewed annually, and the fee is not a flat rate, it is assessed based on gross revenue and tax class, so it varies by property and is not published as a single figure in this data set.

Two rules stand out. First, occupancy is capped at two people per bedroom during any rental. Second, the person operating the rental must have their primary residence in Cobb, Cherokee, Bartow, or Paulding County, Georgia, a regional-operator requirement rather than an on-site owner-occupancy rule (the rental unit itself does not need to be the operator’s home). This effectively limits the market to operators based in the immediate metro Atlanta area rather than fully out-of-area or absentee investors elsewhere in the country.

The rental unit must be listed on a platform, such as Airbnb or Vrbo, that collects hotel and motel tax. Lodging is subject to an 8.00% local hotel and motel excise tax, plus Georgia’s flat $5-per-night state hotel and motel fee, both typically collected by the booking platform. No maximum annual night cap was found in city materials. Enforcement is rated moderate and is handled by the city’s Development Department.