Buying a Short-Term Rental in Savannah, GA
If you are looking at buying a short term rental in Savannah, the first thing to sort out is not the house. It is whose rules you are under.
Savannah, unincorporated Chatham County, Tybee Island, Pooler, and Garden City each write their own short term rental rules, and they do not all align the same way. Two homes four miles apart can sit under completely different law. So before you fall for a place, find out which government it answers to.
Here is where things stand as of September 2026.
The short version
- Inside Savannah city limits, short term rentals are legal only inside the short-term vacation rental overlay, which covers the Downtown, Victorian, and Streetcar local historic districts. Nowhere else in the city.
- Most wards in Downtown and Victorian have already hit the 20% cap on non-owner-occupied rentals, so buying a home that already holds a certificate is usually the way in. There is a waiting list for the rest.
- A certificate does not come with the house. You apply for your own, and you have six months from closing to do it before the cap can be used against you.
- Unincorporated Chatham County allows them with a county license, but new applications are paused until November 7, 2026.
- A subdivision covenant can prohibit the whole thing no matter what the zoning says.
Can you Airbnb a house in Savannah?
The City of Savannah permits short term vacation rentals only within its short-term vacation rental overlay district. The city's own wording: "STVRs are permitted within the short-term vacation rental overlay district, which includes the Downtown, Victorian and Streetcar local historic districts."
Three districts, not one. But Streetcar, formerly Mid-City, is narrower than it looks. On parcels zoned TN-2 there, a short term rental has to sit in a building with two or more dwelling units, and one of those units has to be owner occupied. That makes Streetcar a live-in arrangement, not a hands-off rental you visit twice a year.
Outside the overlay, a rental of 30 nights or fewer is not a permitted use in city residential districts. Ardsley Park, Gordonston, the southside, Windsor Forest. Good places to own a house. Not places the city will certify for nightly stays. Rentals of 31 days or more are treated as ordinary residential occupancy and do not need a certificate at all, which is worth looking into.
Source: City of Savannah, Short-Term Vacation Rentals, and Zoning Ordinance Sec. 7.5.
Most Downtown and Victorian wards are already at the 20% cap
Savannah is laid out in wards, each one built around a square and the blocks that surround it. In the Downtown and Victorian districts, no more than 20% of the residential parcels in any single ward can be a non-owner-occupied short term rental. Owner occupied parcels are exempt and do not count toward the number.
The city publishes the list of wards that have already met the cap on its STVR regulations page, and it is long. As of September 2026:
| District | Wards at the 20% cap |
|---|---|
| Downtown Historic District | Anson, Bartow, Berrien, Brown, Calhoun, Charlton, Chatham, Columbia, Crawford, Currietown, Davis, Forsyth, Gaston, Green, Jackson, Jasper, Lafayette, Mercer, Monterey, O’Neil, Percival, Pulaski, Stephens, Troup, Trustees Garden, Walton, Warren, Washington, Wesley |
| Victorian District | Barry, Cumming, Cuthbert, Elliot, Falligant, Gallie, Gue, Lee, Lester, Lloyd, Reppard, Waring, White, Wylly |
That is most of the historic core. If the house you are looking at sits in one of those wards and does not already hold a certificate, the city will not issue a new non-owner-occupied one for it.
Consider this before counting the idea out. The city keeps a waiting list. Submit the STVR Waiting List Form and the city will contact you when an opening comes up in that ward, first come, first served. And the cap counts only non-owner-occupied parcels, so if you are going to live in the principal unit yourself, the cap does not apply to you at all.
The list is not fixed and is updated as certificates lapse, so it is worth checking back. Certificates renew annually, at $250 a year, though the city does not publish a set date for refreshing the ward table itself. What is updated daily is the city's Short-Term Rental Public Portal, where you can look up a specific address and see whether it currently holds a licensed certificate. That is the tool to use on a house you are considering.
Which is why most short term rental purchases downtown are purchases of a home that already holds a certificate.
Source: City of Savannah, Short-term Vacation Rental Regulations. Ward list as published September 2026.
Alternatives to STVR
Savannah defines a short term vacation rental as the rental of an entire dwelling unit for 30 days or less. Rent out something less than the whole unit and you are in a different category with different rules.
A room inside an owner-occupied home is a bed and breakfast homestay. Two to five rooms is a bed and breakfast. Six to fifteen rooms is an inn, which requires either owner-occupancy or around-the-clock on-site management.
If you were planning to live in the house anyway, these are worth pricing out alongside a straight short term rental, because the 20% ward cap is not standing in the way.
Does the STVR certificate convey?
No. Section 8-11012 of the city code makes STVR certificates non-transferable. It does not ride along with the deed, and the seller cannot hand it to you at closing. The new owner applies for their own.
What protects you is a window. The city's rule reads: "When a transfer of property title occurs for a parcel with a pre-existing STVR certificate, a new application from the transferee/grantee will not be denied on the grounds that the issuance of a certificate will exceed the pre-ward maximum cap limitation if the transferee/grantee applies for a new STVR within six months from the date of title transfer."
In other words, if the home you are buying already has a certificate, and you apply within six months of the day title transfers, a full ward cannot be the reason you are turned down. Let those six months pass in a ward that is at the cap and you are applying like anyone else, into a ward with no room left.
So two things belong in the conversation before you write an offer. Confirm the certificate is current and in good standing while you still have a way out of the contract. And put your own application at the top of the post-closing list instead of the bottom, because six months fills up quickly when there is a roof and a water heater and a furniture order in between.
Source: City of Savannah Code Sec. 8-11012 and the STVR regulations page.
Unincorporated Chatham County licenses them separately, and new licenses are paused
Unincorporated Chatham County has its own ordinance, and it is a different set of rules. Skidaway Island, Wilmington, Whitemarsh, Talahi, and Isle of Hope are all unincorporated, so a Savannah mailing address does not tell you the property is in the city.
The county requires a short term vacation rental certificate plus an occupation registration. The certificate runs $350, renewed annually by June 30. Applicants have to hold an ownership interest, so leasing a house and re-renting it nightly is off the table. Occupancy is capped at two adults per bedroom plus two more, a fire inspector signs off on life safety before a certificate issues, and the application package asks for proof of insurance that names short term rental use, current trash and fire service, an ad valorem tax receipt, and a parking diagram.
New county STR licenses are paused. On July 10, 2026 the Board of Commissioners voted 8 to 1 for a moratorium on new short term rental applications in unincorporated Chatham County. It runs until 11:59 p.m. on November 7, 2026 unless the commission shortens or extends it.
Existing licenses renew as normal, and applications already in the pipeline when the vote happened are not affected.
Commissioners said they wanted the time to gather public input and write clearer long term rules. Proposals on the table include a 500 foot separation between licensed rentals and limits on additional people on the property between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Check the county's current position before you count on a new license, since this one has a date on it.
If you are buying in the unincorporated county with nightly rental in mind, the license status of the specific house is the deal. A home that already carries one sits in a different position than a home that does not.
Source: Chatham County Code Article XIII, county licensing packets, and the Board of Commissioners vote of July 10, 2026.
Tybee is its own city
Tybee Island writes its own rules and has been rewriting them. On August 28, 2026, the city council amended its short term vacation rental ordinance to divide the island into sectors with a cap in each one, and to require a local emergency contact who can respond to problems. The changes take effect January 1, with public workshops planned first.
If you are buying there, check the ordinance as it reads the week you write the offer, because things could change between now and then.
Source: City of Tybee Island, Short-Term Rentals, and the council vote of August 28, 2026.
Pooler and Garden City run their own programs
Pooler asks for two things, a business license and a separate short term rental certificate, at $350 to start and $250 a year after that. A caveat here. Pooler will not issue a certificate for a property within 500 feet of one that already holds it, so a block with an existing rental on it may already be closed to you before you ever write an offer. Beyond that it is fairly open — short term rentals are allowed across most of Pooler’s residential districts, and you need one parking space for every three adults staying.
Garden City also wants two, a city permit and an occupational tax certificate, and both have to be displayed somewhere visible in the house. The permit is $400 to start and $250 to renew. Something to keep in mind: the permit expires a year from the day it was issued, and the occupational tax certificate expires on 31 December.
Source: City of Pooler and City of Garden City, as published September 2026.
The question no ordinance answers
Zoning permission is not permission.
A recorded covenant, an HOA declaration, a condo association's rules, any of these can prohibit short term rentals in a neighborhood where the county or city would happily license one. Georgia courts have upheld associations doing it. Chatham County knows this, which is why its own application package requires a signed HOA affidavit before it will issue a certificate.
Things can go sideways here. Someone confirms the zoning, confirms the license, closes, and then finds a minimum lease term written into covenants that have been in place for years. Read the declaration and every amendment before your due diligence period ends. If the neighborhood has an association, ask them directly and get the answer in writing.
Gated and island communities around Savannah each carry their own covenants, and they vary from one neighborhood to the next. It is worth checking the specific one you are buying into rather than going by what a neighboring community allows.
What it costs to run
Beyond the purchase itself, the recurring stack looks roughly like this.
Licensing. Savannah charges $400 for a new application and $250 to renew each year, both non-refundable. Chatham County charges $350 a year plus an occupation registration based on gross receipts.
Taxes. Inside the city, the hotel/motel excise tax is 8%, effective September 1, 2023, and state and local sales tax on the stay runs 7%. Both are due by the 20th of the month following collection, and you will need a state sales tax number from the Georgia Department of Revenue. Georgia also applies a flat per-night state lodging fee on short stays. What your booking platform collects on your behalf varies by platform and by listing, and the filing obligation stays with you either way. Get a CPA who has done this before, and confirm your setup with the city's revenue department rather than assuming the platform has it handled.
Insurance. A standard homeowner's policy is not written for nightly guests, and the county application asks for proof of coverage that names short term rental use specifically.
Management. If you are not local, this is the largest recurring cost after the mortgage. Rates are negotiated per company, so get quotes before you build a budget around a number you read somewhere.
Furnishing, turnover, and the small stuff. Cleaning between stays, linens, restocking, and the repairs that come from a house being lived in hard by people who do not own it.
Source: City of Savannah Local & State Taxes and STVR Application Process; Chatham County licensing packets.
Savannah short term rentals run 58 to 65 percent occupancy
Third-party data providers track the Savannah market, and they do not agree, because they count different things.
AirDNA's Savannah overview, updated July 9, 2026, put the average daily rate around $303, occupancy near 58%, and annual revenue per listing around $39,100 across roughly 4,800 listings on Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking. Airbtics, looking at Airbnb only and updated in March 2026, reported a $208 nightly rate, 65% occupancy, and $51,000 median annual revenue. The gap comes from platform coverage, how each one defines an active listing, and median versus average.
The season swing is consistent across all of them. March and April rates land somewhere in the $316 to $335 range, against roughly $219 in September. St. Patrick's Day week and the spring weeks around it carry a disproportionate share of the year. Winter is the quiet stretch you have to be capitalized for.
Treat all of that as market context, not as a forecast for one house. Nobody can promise you what a specific property will earn. The answer for a particular address comes from that home's own booking history, its size, its parking, its walk to the squares, and how it is run.
Source: AirDNA Savannah market overview, updated 9 July 2026; Airbtics Savannah, updated March 2026. Figures are third-party market estimates, not a projection for any individual property.
Using rental income to qualify makes it an investment property
If you want second home financing, with its smaller down payment and better pricing, the property has to be occupied by you for part of the year and cannot be a rental property, and you cannot use rental income to qualify. Fannie Mae is direct about that.
The moment you use short term rental income to qualify, it is an investment property. That generally means 20% to 25% down and investor pricing, with rental income documented through tax returns or, in specific situations, leases.
The other route is a DSCR loan, which qualifies off the property's own cash flow instead of your personal income. Lenders in that space will typically use twelve months of Airbnb or Vrbo payout reports for a home with history, or market projections plus a rent schedule for one without.
Have this conversation with a lender before you start touring, not after you find a house. The financing decision shapes which houses you may want to look into.
Source: Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B2-1.1-01 Occupancy Types and B3-3.1-08 Rental Income.
The order to do it in
Sequence matters more than speed here. Working through it roughly in this order keeps you from spending money on a house that was never eligible.
| # | Step | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Confirm which government the property answers to: city, unincorporated county, Tybee, Pooler, or Garden City | Chatham County tax records, or ask me | Free |
| 2 | Look up whether the address already holds a certificate | City’s STR Public Portal, updated daily | Free |
| 3 | If it is in the city, check the ward against the cap list | City’s STVR regulations page | Free |
| 4 | Talk to a lender about second home vs. investment vs. DSCR | Your lender | Free |
| 5 | Request a Zoning Confirmation Letter for the address | City of Savannah | $50 |
| 6 | Read the declaration, covenants, and every amendment, and get the HOA answer in writing | Seller, HOA, closing attorney | Free to low |
| 7 | Talk to a CPA about hotel/motel and sales tax filings | Your CPA | Varies |
| 8 | Under contract: confirm the certificate is current and in good standing while you still have an out | City, seller | Free |
| 9 | After closing: apply for your own certificate, well inside six months | City registration portal | $400 |
Steps one through three cost nothing. They will rule out a good number of houses before you have spent a dollar on inspections.
One last thing
The rules here are not a reason to walk away. They are a reason to do the work in the right order. Sort out the license question before you fall for the house, and the rest of it is ordinary buying.
If your hope is to purchase an STVR or alternative and would like to begin the search, please reach out and see what options are on the table for your situation.
This is general information about local ordinances as they stand in September 2026, not legal or tax advice. The rules change, and the county's moratorium has a stated end date that could move. Confirm current requirements with the City of Savannah, Chatham County, or the applicable municipality before you rely on any of it.
Thinking about making a move?
A simple conversation, with no expectations, is where we start. Tell me where you are in the process and I’ll help you think through what comes next. If you are weighing a short term rental, an owner-occupied alternative, or a straight investment purchase, I am happy to talk it through.
