South Fulton’s Airbnb limits may impact bowl fans

Renting a house for a short time in South Fulton during the Super Bowl? You may be running afoul of a new city rule.

In December, members of the South Fulton City Council agreed to regulate short-term rentals, requir- ing residents who want to rent their property to pay a $200 application fee, apply for a short-term rental license and obtain an occupation tax certificate.

This applies to online home rental services, such as Airbnb and VRBO.

Regional Airbnb spokes- man Ben Breit said Thursday that there are a hand- ful of hosts in South Fulton. He said the company would be willing to start a dialogue with the city to come up with best practices around the rentals.

Carmalitha Gumbs, the city councilwoman who sponsored the ordinance, said its intent was to protect homeowners by ensuring responsible renting.

“I have heard from many residents regarding the quality of life issues that negatively impact our community from illegally operated short term rentals,” Gumbs said in a statement. “It is my hope that with the new regulation, those issues will be mitigated and residents can feel safe and enjoy their community free from incidents.”

Other metro Atlanta communities, like Brookhaven, have also begun to regulate short-term rentals.

With Super Bowl fans jamming hotels this week, private home rentals have provided a place to stay for thousands of visitors.

Last week, Airbnb spokesman Chris Lehane said there were about 5,700 hosts in Atlanta as of Jan. 1, but he feels that amount has certainly increased since then.

Airbnb estimated last week that 9,200 Airbnb guests would be staying in the metro area during Super Bowl week.

WALDO SWIEGERS / BLOOMBERG Airbnb estimated last week that 9,200 Airbnb guests would be staying in the metro Atlanta area during Super Bowl week.