Tybee Island, GA short-term rental permit

What Tybee Island asks of you

• The current version of Tybee's online Land Development Code is dated May 12, 2026. Its Section 4-051 holds the short-term rental rules.^[7]

• Section 4-051.2 asks for an occupation tax certificate before a dwelling is rented short term. Each rental location must also be identified with the city.^[7]

• The city's FAQ exempts a property from that certificate when maintaining it as a rental is the only business there.^[6]

• The code names the title an STR permit, issued under Section 4-051.2.^[7]

• The city's FAQ uses a different name for it: an STR certificate.^[6]

• Section 4-051.3 sets a $200 base fee. Occupancy adds $10 a person up to five people, then $15 a person from six to ten.^[7]

• Larger rentals pay $20 a person. The FAQ's example, a five-bedroom house for 12, comes to $440.^[6]

• The regulatory fee schedule in Section 58-179, last amended February 27, 2025, still lists $100 per short-term vacation rental unit.^[9]

• The fee falls due each January 1. Unpaid after 90 days, it draws delinquency penalties and takes away the right to rent the unit until payment.^[7]

• Applications run from January 1 through March 31. Your current certificate remains valid while the city decides on the renewal.^[6]

• The R-1, R-1-B and R-2 zones get no new permits. Rentals permitted there before April 27, 2023 carry on as nonconforming uses.^[7]

• A permit in those zones is presumed abandoned after fewer than 60 rental days at full market value in 12 months.^[7]

• In those residential zones, any transfer of title ends the permit, with no replacement issued. Ordinance 08-2024 set that rule on June 13, 2024.^[7]

• An owner with five years of ownership and a homestead exemption may still elect to rent the home for up to three years.^[7]

• Outside R-1, R-1-B and R-2, a short-term rental may operate in any zoning district if it complies with the full ordinance.^[7]

• At night, the code allows two adults for each bedroom and two more for the home. Anyone over 15 counts as an adult.^[7]

• Section 4-051.1 gives the rental agent one hour to act on a complaint. The definition in Section 4-052 allows an authorized agent two hours.^[7]

• The home needs structural and liability coverage, with the unit listed as a rental on the insurance declaration.^[7]

• Single-family and duplex rentals post a street-facing sign naming the emergency contact, with a phone number. The sign measures at least 18 by 24 inches, at most 24 by 24.^[7]

• Brochures, online ads and social media posts all carry the unit's location identification number.^[7]

• Renting without applying or identifying the unit costs $500 for every month it continues.^[7]

• A new owner, manager or agent must be reported in writing within seven days. Otherwise the permitted use is void.^[7]

• From 10:00 p.m., noise audible past the property line is banned in residential zones. The ban holds until 7:00 a.m. the next day.^[10]

• Trash carts may reach the street at noon the day before pickup. They leave it by noon the day after, or the citation is $50.^[11]

What Georgia asks wherever you host

These rules apply at this address whatever the city decides.

• On stays booked through a platform acting as marketplace innkeeper, the platform collects Georgia's $5 State Hotel-Motel Fee for you. The charge applies to each night up to the 30th of a continuous stay.^[1]

• Your city or county picks the rate of its hotel-motel tax. An ordinance alone can set 1 to 3% or 5%, while 6 to 8% takes a local act of the General Assembly.^[2]

• Since July 1, 2026, a paid property manager who runs your rental through a hosting platform must complete yearly anti-trafficking training. Self-managed rentals are exempt, as are those offered under 15 days a year.^[3]