Temporary Housing on Your Lot in Atlanta After Hurricane Isaias

This page is for homeowners in the City of Atlanta and unincorporated DeKalb, Cobb, and Gwinnett counties, if Hurricane Isaias left your home unlivable. We did not find a statewide Georgia rule on living in a travel trailer on your own lot while you rebuild, and the four answers here differ: Cobb and Gwinnett have emergency provisions that let the county permit a temporary RV while a home is repaired, DeKalb limits RV stays on a residential lot to 14 days, and Atlanta bars living in an RV on a residential lot. 1st Choice Living has placed furnished travel trailers on homeowners' own property, nationwide, since 2004, and we bill the carrier directly under ALE where the claim covers it.

Hurricane Isaias and the Atlanta area

Storm facts as of October 9, 2026, 10 p.m. CDT, from official sources:

• The storm. In its 4 p.m. CDT advisory on October 9, 2026, the National Hurricane Center said Isaias was a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 115 mph, and that it was forecast to make landfall along the coast of the western Florida Panhandle that evening and then move across Alabama. Source
• Warnings. That advisory had a hurricane warning in effect from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to the Bay and Gulf County line in Florida, and said storm surge could reach 6 to 9 feet above ground from the Alabama and Florida border to Grayton Beach, Florida. Source

Across much of the Southeast beyond southern Alabama, the Florida Panhandle, and southwest Georgia, the advisory forecast 2 to 5 inches of rain, with localized amounts up to 10 inches possible, especially across the Southern Appalachians and coastal Carolinas. It said the tornado threat would continue Saturday across parts of eastern Alabama, the Florida Panhandle, Georgia, and the Carolinas.

The National Hurricane Center's discussion with that advisory said damaging wind gusts were likely over a large portion of the southeastern United States, from western and northern Georgia westward, and told residents to prepare for power outages and be aware of the potential for falling trees. The advisory's coastal warnings did not include Georgia; for inland watches and warnings it pointed to the local National Weather Service office.

Metro Atlanta is far from the Gulf, so the risk named in the advisory here is wind, rain, and tornadoes rather than storm surge. If a tree comes through the roof or water gets in, a home can become unlivable far from the coast, and Additional Living Expenses coverage works the same way it does on the coast.

State of emergency. Governor Brian Kemp's Executive Order 10.08.26.01, signed October 8, 2026, declared a state of emergency in Georgia due to the potential impact of Hurricane Isaias. The order is statewide and names no counties, so it covers Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, and Gwinnett counties; the Governor's office said it applies to all 159 counties. The order says it is valid for seven days unless the Governor renews it. Source

Return to your property only when local officials say it is safe. Stay out of flood water and keep clear of downed lines. For roads, shelters, and re-entry, follow the Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency (404-612-5660), the DeKalb Emergency Management Agency (770-270-0413), the Cobb County Emergency Management Agency ((770) 499-4567), or the Gwinnett County Emergency Management (GEMA/HS county listing) ((770) 513-5600). For the current forecast, go to the National Hurricane Center.

Local rules on living in an RV on your lot

Start with which government handles your address. Inside Atlanta city limits, the city's Office of Buildings handles permits; most of Atlanta is in Fulton County and part is in DeKalb. Outside any city, DeKalb, Cobb, and Gwinnett each have their own code and permit office. Cities inside those counties, such as Decatur, Marietta, or Lawrenceville, have their own rules and are not covered here.

Cobb and Gwinnett: the trigger in both county codes is a state of emergency or disaster declared by the governor or the board chairman, so the Governor's statewide order meets that wording. The permit is still issued at the county's discretion, with engineered plans approved by the county health department and the building or development office, for up to six months plus up to six more for continuing hardship, and the unit must then be removed. Cobb also has its own declaration: Chairwoman Lisa Cupid signed a local state of emergency for Hurricane Isaias on October 9, 2026, for unincorporated Cobb County. Neither declaration means permits are being issued; the county decides each one. We did not find a Gwinnett declaration for Isaias as of October 9. Ask the county before a trailer is placed.

Cobb also has a zoning provision that lets the Board of Commissioners permit a mobile home, not an RV, to be parked and lived in where a building permit has been obtained to build a home.

DeKalb: the 14-day limit is the only RV occupancy allowance we found. It is not a storm rule and has no permit process, so a stay longer than 14 days while a home is repaired needs the county's answer first. DeKalb's code also says an RV may not be parked on a lot without a permanent home as its principal use.

Atlanta: the city's emergency management chapter has no temporary dwelling provision, and its zoning code allows travel trailers to be used for housing only in approved facilities meant for that use, for no more than 30 days. The city is rewriting its zoning ordinance, but the new code has not been adopted.

Septic and sewer: most homes in these areas are on public sewer. Statewide, the Georgia Department of Public Health's on-site sewage rules cover recreational vehicles, require connection to public sewer when it is available within 200 feet, and require a county health department permit before a septic system is installed.

Rules here were read on official city and county pages on October 9, 2026 and can change after a storm. The side-by-side table for every Isaias area is on Hurricane Isaias RV rules by county.

How the trailer is billed: Additional Living Expenses

Additional Living Expenses, or ALE, sometimes called loss of use, pays for somewhere to live while the house is not livable. Ask your carrier whether your policy includes it and what the limit is. The Georgia Office of Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire explains in its disaster guide that the additional cost of renting a house or staying in a motel is payable under the policy but your normal mortgage payment is not, and to save documents and receipts for increased living expenses. Its Consumer Services Division is at (800) 656-2298.

• Local rules for your address checked before delivery.
• A furnished travel trailer that sleeps 2 to 10, with a kitchen, a bathroom, real beds, and heat and air, delivered, leveled, and set up on your property.
• Utilities connected by licensed, insured contractors from our preferred vendor network, planned around what is actually working at the property.
• Site conditions documented at setup and again at takedown.
• Direct billing to your carrier under ALE where the claim covers it, tracked against your ALE limit. On a covered claim that is $0 out of pocket for your family.
• One named contact from the first call to the day the unit leaves.

Flood is different. National Flood Insurance Program policies do not provide additional living expense coverage. If your home also had damage your homeowners policy covers, such as wind, ask your adjuster how ALE applies. This is general information, not legal or coverage advice. Your policy and your adjuster decide what is covered.

Already working with a temporary housing company?

We work with any temporary housing company. If one is handling your housing, ask them to place you with 1st Choice Living for a trailer on your own lot in Atlanta. They send us the placement, we deliver, set up, and service the trailer, and the billing runs through them or straight to your carrier, whichever way their program works.

What we need to start

• The property address in Atlanta and whether it is inside city limits.
• How many people are in the household.
• Your claim number and your adjuster’s name and contact.
• Your ALE limit, if your adjuster has told you.

From there we check the local rules for that address, confirm the lot can take a unit, and plan setup around what is safe and working at the property. If a trailer on your lot is not the right fit, we will tell you. Adjusters and housing companies can send a placement through for adjusters and carriers.

More Hurricane Isaias pages

• Temporary housing after Hurricane Isaias: storm facts, safety, and how ALE works for a trailer on your lot.
• Hurricane Isaias RV rules by county: every area in one table.
• Our Georgia temporary housing page.
• Nearby: Columbus and Muscogee County, GA
• Nearby: Birmingham area, AL
• More Georgia pages: Albany and Dougherty County, Southwest Georgia (Bainbridge, Thomasville, and Cairo).
• Travel trailers for crews and families after Hurricane Isaias from Temporary RV Living.
• Drone documentation after Hurricane Isaias from LossMap, to record roof and property damage before cleanup.

Frequently asked questions