On March 30, 2026, a request concerning a 15.46-acre parcel on Laurel Ridge Road in Cleveland went before the White County Board of Commissioners. The property was described as gated and 800 feet from the subdivision entrance. A poster showed other short-term rentals already operating in the same subdivision. The board denied the request 4–1.
The other rentals on that poster didn't help, because the White County Board of Commissioners minutes say they had been operating before the current ordinance took effect and were grandfathered. That leads to the most useful fact for anyone buying a mountain cabin in unincorporated White County with rental income in mind. A property's rental history and the rentals around it tell you almost nothing about whether the county will license it. A short paragraph in the subdivision covenants decides that.
One sentence in the county code
White County's land-use code allows short-term rentals in the A-1, R-1, R-2 and R-3 districts and bans them in the C-1, C-2 and Industrial districts. Most buyers stop reading at the zoning list. The next line matters more:
Short term rentals are not allowed in subdivisions in any district, unless the covenants of the subdivision/homeowners association specifically allow for short term rentals.
The key word is "specifically." If the covenants are silent on rentals, the county reads that as a no. The host-license ordinance says the same thing from the licensing side. No license will be issued for a property in a platted subdivision shown on the county's adopted map unless the covenants specifically allow short-term rentals.
That map does the sorting. Every applicant needs a zoning and subdivision verification letter from the county's community and economic development department. The subdivision answer comes from an official map approved by the Board of Commissioners. A large lot, a private gate or a long distance from the entrance doesn't take a parcel off the map. Only the board can do that, and so far in 2026 it hasn't.
Three appeals in three months
The Laurel Ridge Road request was the third map appeal the board heard in 2026. All three were denied, each for the same reason.
| Meeting | Location | What the record shows | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. 5, 2026 | Hooper Road, Cleveland, 2.88 acres | Part of Town Creek South, a platted 22-lot subdivision whose covenants, according to the White County Board of Commissioners minutes, don't allow rentals. The owner said he didn't know the property was in a subdivision, said most of his neighbors didn't know either, and had bought it as a second home. | Denied 4–1 |
| Mar. 2, 2026 | Wilderland Trail, Helen, 5.61 acres | A 10-lot platted subdivision whose active covenants, according to the White County Board of Commissioners minutes, run until 12/31/2070 and don't mention rentals. The owner had rented it for several years without a host license. A neighbor's appeal in the same subdivision had been denied a few months earlier. | Denied unanimously |
| Mar. 30, 2026 | Laurel Ridge Road, Cleveland, 15.46 acres | Platted subdivision with covenants that don't specifically allow rentals. | Denied 4–1 |
The January case shows how a buyer can miss this completely. A 2.88-acre home on Hooper Road doesn't look like it's in a subdivision, and the owner told the board he had no idea his lot was part of a platted 22-lot one. He had started contacting neighbors to try to form an association and write a covenant that would allow rentals.
In March, staff and the chairman both described the same fix. County staff told the Wilderland Trail owner a rental could be permitted if the covenants were revised to specifically allow it. At the Laurel Ridge Road hearing, the chairman said there would be no issue if the covenants were amended. So the way forward runs through the neighbors who share the covenants, not the commission.
Why the rental next door proves so little
Grandfathering explains why a subdivision can have working rentals and still be closed to new ones. Under the county code, a property that held a current occupational tax license and host license, and was remitting hotel/motel tax before the effective date, is grandfathered as a legal short-term rental. That status stays with the property, so later owners can keep renting as long as they get their own licenses and tax authorization.
That right belongs to a particular parcel. A cabin across the road with years of guest reviews may be legal because of its own history, and that history doesn't extend to the lot you're looking at.
Platform tax receipts don't settle the question either. The Wilderland Trail owner showed commissioners that Airbnb and VRBO had paid lodging taxes to the county for years. The County Clerk explained that platform payments arrive with no detail about which properties they cover. A tax trail through a booking site is not a host license.
The pressure on this issue isn't limited to the commission. At a May 26, 2026 Planning Commission hearing, an applicant asked to rezone property from R-1 to R-3 to allow seasonal or short-term rental homes, and nearby residents objected to more rentals. The same minutes record a discussion of enforcement, including a "three-strikes" approach and how responsibilities are split between Code Enforcement and the Sheriff's Office.
What carries over when a licensed cabin sells
If the cabin you're buying is licensed or grandfathered, the license itself doesn't come with it. The ordinance says host licenses are non-transferable. A new owner has 60 days to apply and keeps the prior owner's rights, including grandfathered status and a place under the license cap. Sixty days goes quickly in the weeks after closing, especially if guests are already booked.
The rest of the calendar matters too:
- Host licenses expire December 31 and must be renewed every year.
- Existing businesses that pay after December 31 owe a penalty of 10 percent per month.
- Operating more than 30 days without a paid license brings a warning and a penalty of three times the license fee, and a citation if it isn't paid within ten calendar days.
- The county caps active host licenses at 650 at any one time.
The most recent public count I found is from January 2024. At that point WRWH reported 501 issued host licenses covering 546 units, plus about 50 rentals operating without a license. That number is close to three years old, so it says little about how much room is left under the cap today. Confirm the current status with the county before counting on a new license.
The ordinance sets fees by separate resolution. The county's online application package lists a host license fee of $125 per property. It also lists occupational tax by number of employees, starting at $100 for zero to five, plus a one-time $25 administrative fee. Treat those as the amounts printed on the form, and confirm the current schedule with the Business Tax Office.
The license is also a building document
This part of the ordinance reads a lot like a walkthrough checklist. The host must attest that the property meets building, fire and life-safety requirements. The host also has to post emergency and occupancy information, carry commercial or rental-specific insurance, and keep a responsible party on call around the clock who can respond to complaints within two hours. The county may inspect for compliance.
Occupancy isn't a fixed number countywide. The maximum load comes from the host-license application, and guests must stay within a safe number under fire-safety rules. A listing that says "sleeps 12" makes a promise the building has to back up. That depends on bedroom egress, smoke and carbon monoxide protection, and how the loft and basement were actually finished. A cabin with an unpermitted bunk room downstairs can lose a lot of the income its seller described once you account for the safety attestation.
Inside Cleveland city limits, a different rulebook
Everything above applies to unincorporated White County. The City of Cleveland adopted its own rules on March 14, 2022: zoning amendment 2022-02 and short-term rental ordinance 2022-03. Together they allow rentals in the city's R-I, R-II and R-III residential districts. White County News reported at the time that the city requires permits and approval before a rental opens and applies life-safety codes.
I couldn't confirm the city's current fee, occupancy rule or whether a permit transfers on sale. The city's online code also notes that it may not reflect the latest legislation. For an in-town property, ask the City Clerk directly. A Cleveland mailing address doesn't tell you which set of rules applies, and all three 2026 county cases involved parcels outside city limits even though two had Cleveland addresses.
An order of operations for your due diligence period
- Find out whether the parcel is inside Cleveland city limits or in unincorporated White County.
- For county parcels, request the zoning and subdivision verification letter, and confirm whether the lot appears on the official short-term rental subdivision map.
- Get the recorded covenants and look for language that names short-term rentals. If they don't mention rentals, the county reads that as a no. Note when the covenants expire, because some run for decades.
- Ask the seller for the current host license, the occupational tax certificate and proof of grandfathered status for this parcel. Reviews and booking history are not a substitute.
- If the property is licensed, put the 60-day application window on your calendar before closing, and note the December 31 renewal.
- Walk the house with the life-safety attestation in mind. Compare the occupancy load you plan to use against the bedrooms, exits and finished spaces as they were actually built.
Michele Lester is a licensed Georgia general contractor who was born and raised in the Clermont area, and she reads a cabin's covenants and its framing with the same care. If you're under contract, or about to be, on a property where rental income is part of the plan, schedule a free consultation. You'll get the verification letter, the covenants and the walkthrough done in the right order while your due diligence period is still open.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
