Chapel Hill does not impose an annual cap on the number of nights an STR may host. The 183-day primary-residence threshold in Ordinance-9 (June 2021) limits the operator's eligibility for a Primary Residence STR (which must be the operator's primary home) rather than imposing a per-property booking ceiling - the property itself may still host paying guests for many of the remaining days. Dedicated STRs in commercial / mixed-use districts may operate year-round. The NC Court of Appeals in Schroeder v. City of Wilmington (2022) struck down Wilmington's caps and quantity controls as 'so intertwined with the invalid registration requirement' as to fall with it under NC G.S. 160D-1207(c), and Chapel Hill has not enacted per-property booking caps. Practical constraints are the LUMO 4-unrelated-persons occupancy rule, HOA covenants, and the underlying zoning compliance permit conditions.
Unlike night-cap markets such as San Francisco (90 nights for unhosted), Portland OR (95 nights for accessory rentals), or Honolulu (180 nights for hosted), Chapel Hill has no codified per-year, per-quarter, or per-month night cap on the number of nights an STR may host. The 183-day threshold in Ordinance-9 (June 2021) is a primary-residence test - it defines whether the operator qualifies for a Primary Residence STR (requiring the operator to reside on-site for 183 or more days per year) versus a Dedicated STR (no primary resident or operator on-site fewer than 183 days/year) - rather than a per-property booking ceiling. The property itself may host paying guests for many of the remaining days in either category. For a Primary Residence STR the operator's required on-site days (183) leave up to 182 days when the operator could plausibly be off-site while the property hosts guests, but this is not a hard 182-night cap; the actual occupancy depends on the operator's pattern. For a Dedicated STR (in commercial / mixed-use districts only - TC-1, TC-2, TC-3, MU-V, NC, MU-OI-1, CC), there is no codified per-property night cap and the property may operate year-round subject to zoning compliance permit conditions. The NC Court of Appeals in Schroeder v. City of Wilmington (2022) struck down not only Wilmington's STR registration program but also the caps on total number of rentals, minimum separation requirements between STR properties, and amortization provisions as 'so intertwined with the invalid registration requirement' as to fall with it under NC G.S. 160D-1207(c). The UNC School of Government's analysis notes that per-property night caps tied to a registration scheme are generally precluded by Schroeder. Chapel Hill's framework, structured as zoning compliance permits with use-category and zoning-district restrictions, does not include per-property night caps. The practical constraints on STR operation in Chapel Hill are: (1) the LUMO 4-unrelated-persons occupancy rule that limits investor-style Dedicated STR headcount; (2) zoning-district eligibility (Dedicated STRs limited to commercial / mixed-use districts); (3) the underlying Housing Code, NC State Building Code, and zoning compliance permit conditions; (4) the 9.75% combined lodging tax on each booking; and (5) HOA covenant minimum-lease-term provisions where applicable.
Because Chapel Hill does not codify an annual night cap and the per-property cap was generally precluded by Schroeder, there is no codified town-level penalty for 'exceeding' a night limit. Operating a Primary Residence STR without actually meeting the 183-day primary-residence threshold is a misrepresentation enforceable as a LUMO violation; the Planning Department can require documentary evidence of residency (utility bills, driver's license, voter registration, NC tax filings) and may revoke or non-renew the Primary Residence STR permit, requiring the property to either qualify as a Dedicated STR (which means being in a commercial / mixed-use zoning district) or to cease STR operation. Operating a Dedicated STR in a non-eligible residential zoning district is a LUMO zoning violation enforceable by the Planning Department. Housing Code and NC State Building Code violations are enforceable independently, and repeat verified violations count toward the NC G.S. 160D-1207(c) chronic-violator threshold ($500/year fee cap, no criminal penalties). HOA covenant minimum-lease-term violations are enforced privately by the HOA. Operators should treat compliance with the use-category rules (primary residence vs. dedicated) as the operative discipline rather than worry about a non-existent night cap.
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