Buy a house in one of Savannah’s local historic districts and you buy a review process with it. Changing the exterior means an approval most buyers have never heard of, and it comes before the building permit. That is not a reason to avoid these streets, but it is a reason to know the calendar before you write an offer on a house you plan to change.
Key Takeaways
– Exterior changes visible from the street need a Certificate of Appropriateness, and it must come before the building permit.
– Staff can sign off small items in about a week. Anything at board level can take 60 days or more.
– The federal 20% rehabilitation credit does not apply to a home you live in. Georgia’s programs can.
– Work done without the certificate costs double to fix on paper: the filing fee is doubled after the fact.
What approval do you need to change the outside of the house?
A Certificate of Appropriateness. The rule is about visibility from the street: “Within Local Historic Districts and Conservation Districts, a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) is required for a variety of exterior changes to both contributing and non-contributing buildings when visible from the public right-of-way” (Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission).
The City’s own wording is that “certain material changes in the appearance” trigger it, and it lists the districts: Savannah Downtown, Victorian, Streetcar, Cuyler-Brownville, Ardsley Park, Ardmore-Chatham Terrace and Historic Carver Village (City of Savannah).
The sequencing matters most. The certificate comes from the MPC Preservation Department, the building permit from the City’s Development Services Department, and “A COA is required prior to the issuance” of that permit (MPC).
Which board hears your project, and when does it meet?
That depends on the district. Downtown projects go to the Historic District Board of Review, which “meets the 2nd Wednesday of every month at 1pm,” held “virtually and/or in-person” (MPC). The other local districts are heard by the Historic Preservation Commission, created in 2019, which “meets the fourth Wednesday of every month at 3:00 pm in the Arthur A. Mendonsa Hearing Room at 112 E State St” (MPC).
For anything the downtown board will hear, there is a step before the application. City ordinance requires that “prior to the submittal of an application for a COA that will require review by the Savannah Downtown Historic District Board of Review, the applicant shall participate in a pre-application conference with MPC Staff,” and those “pre-meetings must be held a minimum of ONE WEEK prior to the submission deadline” (2026 HDBR application).
Deadlines are enforced. “Incomplete applications will not be processed nor included on the agenda,” and revisions filed after the deadline “may be continued to the following month’s hearing.” Miss one and you have lost a month.
How long does approval actually take?
Two very different answers, depending on who signs it. The preservation office publishes both: staff review “can be completed in a week or so (maximum 30 days) after a completed application is received,” while a project that must go to a board “will be placed on the next possible agenda; this process may take 60 days or more” (MPC).
The practical question is which pile your project lands in. Staff handle a short list, two or fewer items at a time: color change, brick repointing, roof repair or replacement, shutters, awnings, windows and doors, stucco repair, mechanical screening, non-illuminated signs and siding.
Two lines in the application decide the rest, and both catch people out: “Three or more staff review items automatically becomes a Board Review application,” and “Application requests for non-contributing structures are automatic Board Reviews.” A tidy plan to replace the roof, the windows and the siding in one season is a board case, not a staff case.
Board-level work is the bigger stuff: rehabilitation, alterations, additions, new construction, illuminated signs, fences and gates, demolition, relocation and solar panels.
What does it cost, and what happens if the work was already done?
Filing fees scale with the cost of the work, from $25 for a job under $2,500 up to $1,500 for work over $10 million. Demolishing a contributing building carries its own $500 fee, and appealing a staff decision is $250 (2026 HDBR application).
The line worth reading twice covers work already finished: “After-the-Fact (Work completed without a COA) – Filing fee (above) doubled.” If a seller replaced the windows without approval, that is a live issue on the house, and the city does issue stop work orders in these districts (MPC). Ask during due diligence whether recent exterior work went through the process, and if the answer is vague, ask the preservation office at 912-651-1440 or [email protected].
Is the house “contributing”, and why does that change everything?
Contributing status changes what you can do more than any other fact. “Contributing structures are those that were deemed to be significant to the character of the district,” and they “can only be altered or demolished after careful consideration” (MPC). Work on them is judged against “the current edition of the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Rehabilitation” (MPC staff report, December 2025). Non-contributing is no free pass either: that work is an automatic board review.
Keep one distinction straight. National Register districts “are recognized by the Federal government, but there are few impacts from National Register designation on development of a property,” while “Locally Designated districts can and often do have regulations for development, maintenance, and building.” Savannah has both, layered. Its landmark district dates to 1966, designated for the Oglethorpe Plan and its architecture (National Park Service).
If you are planning up rather than out, check the Height Map before you buy. Downtown, “The number of stories as shown on the Height Map shall be permitted. Variances from the Height Map shall not be permitted,” and rooftop habitable space counts against you: “Habitable space such as restrooms, bars, dining areas, etc. within a roof or structures above a roof … shall be considered a story” (MPC staff report, December 2025).
Do the preservation tax incentives apply to a house you live in?
The federal one does not. The National Park Service program is 20% of qualified rehabilitation expenses, and it is “only available to properties that will be used for a business or other income-producing purpose” (NPS). Its eligibility page is blunt: “Owner-occupied residential properties do not qualify for the federal rehabilitation tax credit,” and a qualifying building has to stay income-producing “for at least five years” (NPS).
Georgia is where an owner-occupier can find relief. The state’s preferential property tax assessment “encourage[s] rehabilitation of both residential and commercial historic buildings by freezing property tax assessments for up to nine years” (Georgia DCA). The catch is the size of the job: for an owner-occupied home, the rehabilitation “must increase the fair market value of the building by at least 50%,” and the county tax assessor makes that call. The freeze then unwinds in steps, rising by half the difference in year nine and reaching full current value in year ten.
Georgia also runs an income tax credit worth “25% of qualifying rehabilitation expenses,” capped at “$100,000 for a principal residence” (Georgia DCA). A recent change widened who can use it: “In 2024, legislation passed allowing for historic homes which serve as primary residences (owner-occupied) in local historic districts to be eligible,” where eligibility had been limited to National Register properties, and “These changes to the state tax program go into effect in 2026” (Georgia DCA notice).
Both state programs want to see the project before it starts. The fact sheet warns that “any work done prior to HPD review is done at owner’s own risk,” and that rehabilitation “must be completed within two years.” Closing on Friday and starting demolition on Monday is how people lose these.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need approval to paint my house in a Savannah historic district?
A color change is on the list of items preservation staff review downtown, so it is not automatic. Staff can handle two or fewer such items at a time, and three or more become a board application. Confirm with the preservation office for your specific district before you buy paint.
How long does a Certificate of Appropriateness take in Savannah?
Staff review runs about a week and up to 30 days after a complete application. Board review “may take 60 days or more,” and downtown cases need a pre-application conference at least a week before the filing deadline. Build the calendar into your renovation plan, not around it.
Can I get a tax credit for restoring a historic home I live in?
Not the federal one. It is 20% and income-producing property only, and owner-occupied homes are excluded. Georgia’s programs are the ones to look at: a property tax assessment freeze for up to nine years, and a 25% state income tax credit capped at $100,000 for a principal residence.
What happens if the previous owner did work without approval?
The city treats it as an after-the-fact application and the filing fee doubles. Ask during due diligence whether recent exterior work was approved, and ask the preservation office directly if you cannot get a clear answer. Stop work orders are a live enforcement tool here: the preservation office publishes a brochure on what to do when one lands.
Is a National Register listing the same as being in a local historic district?
No. The preservation office says federal listing has “few impacts” on what an owner may do, while local designation carries real regulation of development and maintenance. Savannah properties can sit inside both, and the local rules are the ones that govern your renovation.
Before you make an offer
The buyers who enjoy these houses priced the process in. Confirm the district and whether the building is contributing, ask about recent exterior work, check the height map if you plan to add space, and sequence the incentives before the work starts.
If you want the specific address checked against the district maps before you commit, get in touch. For the wider city, our Savannah and Hunter Army Airfield community page has the local links in one place, and our guide to waterfront and deep-water homes covers the other end of the coastal market.