Airbnb and Vacation Rental Injury Claims in Georgia

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A guest hurt at a Georgia short-term rental can look to the host who owns or runs the property, to the platform that took the booking, and to the insurance behind each of them. Which of those leads anywhere depends on what duty the host owes a paying guest, whether federal law shields the platform from being treated as the author of the listing, and which policies exist and for how much.

What the Host Owes a Paying Guest

An owner or occupier who invites others onto the premises for a lawful purpose owes ordinary care in keeping the premises and approaches safe (OCGA 51-3-1). The lesser duty owed a licensee, liability only for willful or wanton injury, does not fit a booked guest, because the statute defines a licensee as a person who, among other things, has no contractual relationship with the owner of the premises (OCGA 51-3-2).

The duty turns on knowledge. The owner is not an insurer of a guest’s safety but must use ordinary care to protect the guest from unreasonable risks the owner knows more about than the guest does, and a guest need not come forward with evidence disproving the guest’s own negligence until “it has been established or assumed the defendant had actual or constructive knowledge of the hazard, and the defendant presents evidence that the plaintiff’s injuries were proximately caused” by the plaintiff’s own negligence (Robinson v. Kroger Co., 268 Ga. 735 (1997)). For example, imagine a deck rail at a mountain cabin that gives way under a guest’s weight: the claim would turn on what the host knew or should have known about the rail, and what the guest could have seen.

The Platform and Section 230

Federal law treats the platform separately. “No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider” (47 U.S.C. § 230(c)(1)), and “[n]o cause of action may be brought and no liability may be imposed under any State or local law that is inconsistent with this section” (47 U.S.C. § 230(e)(3)).

The protection has an edge. It covers information “provided by another information content provider,” such as a host’s own listing, and an “information content provider” is “any person or entity that is responsible, in whole or in part, for the creation or development of information provided through the Internet or any other interactive computer service” (47 U.S.C. § 230(f)(3)). A platform that is responsible, even in part, for creating the information at issue is itself an information content provider for that information.

Finding Every Policy

A rental injury can involve the host’s own policy, a rental policy, and a program run by the platform. Georgia gives a claimant two tools. An insurer that “is or may be liable to pay all or a part of any claim” must provide, “within 60 days of receiving a written request from the claimant, a statement, under oath, of a corporate officer or the insurer’s claims manager stating with regard to each known policy of insurance issued by it, including excess or umbrella insurance, the name of the insurer, the name of each insured, and the limits of coverage,” or a copy of each declaration page instead; the claimant’s request must “set forth under oath the specific nature of the claim asserted” and go by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery (OCGA 33-3-28(a)(1)). The insured, within 30 days of a written request, “shall disclose to the claimant or his attorney the name of each known insurer which may be liable to the claimant upon such claim” (OCGA 33-3-28(a)(2)).

Frequently Asked Questions

Does breaking a safety law count as negligence?
It can. In a stop-sign case, the Court of Appeals treated the violation of a statute as negligence per se and a prima facie showing of negligence, and, relying on an earlier decision, left to the jury in the ordinary case whether that negligence caused the injury (Williams v. Calhoun, 175 Ga. App. 332 (1985), citing Buckhead Glass Co. v. Taylor, 226 Ga. 247 (1970)).

Does the negligent security law cover an assault at a rental house?
For causes of action arising on or after April 21, 2025, no owner or occupier is liable for negligent security for an injury on premises used as a single-family residence (OCGA 51-3-54(6)). Whether a particular rental is used that way depends on the facts of its use.

What if the insurer says the request lacks information?
The insurer or insured may say so in writing, “stating specifically what additional information is needed,” and doing so counts as compliance (OCGA 33-3-28(b)).

Must the disclosure be updated?
Yes. It “shall be amended upon the discovery of facts inconsistent with or in addition to the information provided” (OCGA 33-3-28(d)).

Does the insurer give up coverage defenses by disclosing its policy?
No. The information “shall not create a waiver of any defenses to coverage available to the insurer and shall not be admissible in evidence unless otherwise admissible under Georgia law” (OCGA 33-3-28(c)).

  • OCGA 51-3-1; OCGA 51-3-2; Robinson v. Kroger Co., 268 Ga. 735 (1997)
  • 47 U.S.C. § 230(c)(1), (e)(3), (f)(3)
  • OCGA 33-3-28(a), (b), (c), (d)
  • OCGA 51-3-54(6)
  • Williams v. Calhoun, 175 Ga. App. 332 (1985), citing Buckhead Glass Co. v. Taylor, 226 Ga. 247 (1970)

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about vacation-rental injury claims under Georgia law. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Who may be liable, and what coverage responds, depend on the specific facts, the listing and booking terms, and the policies involved. A person injured at a short-term rental should consult a licensed Georgia attorney about the particular situation.

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