Columbia, SC Short-Term Rentals: Short-Term Rental Permits (2026)

City Code Sec. 5-403(a) is unambiguous: no dwelling unit in the city may be operated as a short-term rental without a current STR permit issued by the City of Columbia, and permits are issued and renewed annually. The permitting process, created by Ordinance No. 2023-037 on April 4, 2023, began 30 days after enactment, and existing STR owners at that time had 120 days from the start of the permitting process to obtain a permit. A critical eligibility rule sits inside the same subsection: permits are only issued or renewed to an owner or responsible local representative whose residence or business office is within 45 miles of the STR property; owners living farther away must designate a responsible local representative who meets that distance requirement.

Sec. 5-403(b) limits each permit to a single dwelling unit, so an operator running multiple short-term rentals needs a separate permit for every address. Sec. 5-403(d) makes permits non-transferable: a change of ownership requires the new owner to apply for a brand-new permit rather than inherit the seller's. Sec. 5-403(e) frames the permit as a 'regulated privilege, not a right,' which the city can revoke under the Sec. 5-408 process. Renewal applications are due by July 1 each year under Sec. 5-404(c), with a loss of the permit if a renewal is not filed by July 31 starting in 2024, and Sec.

5-405(a) requires the city to act on a complete, paid application within 30 days, contingent on fire/building code certification and, where the city deems it necessary, a safety inspection.