Franklin County, NC Short-Term Rentals: Short-Term Rental Parking Rules (2026)

Franklin County's Unified Development Code classifies short-term rentals under the Lodging use category at section 5.3.6.J, splitting them into two types: a bed-and-breakfast, defined as up to five guest rooms or a whole-house rental, and a hotel/motel, defined as more than five rooms in total or in a single structure regardless of whether the rooms are rented separately or jointly. Both types fall under the same parking standard: section 5.3.6.J requires short-term rentals to provide at least one off-street parking space per rental bedroom, on top of any additional parking the bed-and-breakfast standard in section 5.3.6.B requires for the owner or manager.

The Lodging category's accessory uses, including offices, meeting areas, food preparation and dining facilities, laundry facilities, swimming pools and other recreation facilities alongside parking, are treated as incidental to the primary short-term rental use rather than separately regulated. Table 5-1 (UDC section 5.3.3) governs which zoning districts allow lodging uses by right or with a Special Use Permit, and a bed-and-breakfast-scale short-term rental additionally has to meet the section 5.3.6.B host-presence, room-cap, and neighborhood-compatibility standards. A short-term rental that opens without the required one-space-per-bedroom parking, or without the permit required for its district, is a zoning violation the Administrator enforces under UDC sections 3.3.1-3.3.6, which can lead to permit denial or revocation under section 3.4.2.A-B, a civil penalty of up to $500.00 under section 3.4.2.C, or prosecution as a Class 3 misdemeanor under section 3.4.2.D.