Columbia, SC Accessory Structures: ADU Rental Restrictions (2026)

The 30-day floor sits as item i within the same accessory dwelling unit standard, Sec. 3(d)(1), that authorizes and conditions ADUs citywide, and it applies regardless of whether the unit is attached to the principal house or built as a detached structure like a garage apartment. Any lease or rental agreement for less than 30 consecutive days is prohibited, which rules out the nightly and weekly bookings typical of short-term rental platforms. The restriction is notable because Columbia's UDO separately defines and permits a Short-Term Rental (STR) as its own Visitor Accommodation Use, defined in Article 9 as the use of a dwelling unit for less than 30 consecutive days in exchange for valuable consideration, and Sec.

2(c) even sets frontage standards for STRs on major or minor arterial or collector streets, with an exemption for owner-occupied STRs. That STR use type, however, is not extended to accessory dwelling units: the ADU-specific standard in Sec. 3(d)(1)i closes that door outright, so a homeowner cannot use a backyard cottage or garage apartment as a short-term rental even though the same code permits short-term rental of the principal house itself in qualifying locations. The 30-day floor works alongside the owner-occupancy requirement in item b and the ban on subdividing the ADU's ownership in item f, together keeping an ADU functioning as a long-term second household on the lot rather than as a standalone income property rented out nightly or weekly.