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For Rent sign next to The Masters logo on a green jacket
Every year, Augusta, Georgia welcomes a massive influx of visitors who descend upon the city for The Masters. Many residents take advantage of their arrival and make some serious bank by renting out their homes for the week, but the good times could be coming to an end as officials plot a crackdown on that practice.
Augusta National Golf Club has served as the site of The Masters since it was held there for the first time in 1934, and the city has reaped the benefits of the tourism dollars that are injected into the local economy when the tournament rolls around at the start of April each year.
The infamously exclusive golf club doesn’t release any official attendance numbers, but it’s believed that around 90,000 people get the chance to walk its hallowed grounds during practice and competitive rounds each year.
They may be able to take advantage of cheap concessions when they enter the course, but that tends to be the only inexpensive aspect of a pilgrimage where most patrons will have to pay a premium to book a hotel room or a short-term rental to stay at while attending the major.
There are plenty of people who live in Augusta who are able to capitalize on the demand for lodging during The Masters, but some of them won’t have that option if the city enacts a plan that’s been proposed.
The city of Augusta is exploring a sweeping ban on rentals during The Masters
Short-term rentals in the city The Masters call home are widespread to the point where a section of the Internal Revenue Code is referred to as the “Augusta Rule,” which allows anyone who rents out a private home for two weeks or less to exclude those earnings from their tax returns.
There’s no way to know exactly how many people who permanently reside in Augusta take advantage of it during The Masters, but many of them are able to pay off their mortgage for the entire year and more than cover the cost of the vacations they take while allowing someone who’s attending the tournament to stay at the home they vacate.
However, according to WRDW, the city of Augusta is thinking about overhauling a zoning code that hasn’t been changed since 1963 with the goal of targeting short-term rentals within its borders.
The outlet notes there’s been a spike in out-of-state buyers scooping up properties in Augusta with the primary goal of profiting off The Masters, and the rise of platforms like Airbnb has led to the city floating a ban on rentals of 30 days or less in certain areas.
That would include places classified as “regular residential neighborhoods” that primarily consist of single-family homes. Exceptions would be made for areas zoned as agricultural and mixed-use as well as three defined “downtown” pockets, but rentals there would require a permit that comes with an 8% tax (they would also be capped at two people per bedroom and a total of six in the entire residence).
Members of the public will have the chance to share their thoughts on the plan at a hearing scheduled for Wednesday, and based on the impact it could have, it’s probably going to be a pretty crowded one.