Concord, NC Short-Term Rentals: Permit Requirements (2026)

The City of Concord does not currently operate a stand-alone Airbnb/short-term-rental registration or permit scheme. Instead, the Concord Development Ordinance (CDO) addresses these rentals through its use classifications. In the CDO use tables, 'Short Term rental' is cross-referenced to the Household Living use category. Household Living is defined as 'residential occupancy of a dwelling unit by a household on a month-to-month or longer basis,' and the principal-use list for Household Living explicitly includes 'short-term rental' alongside single-family houses, townhouses and apartments. Because the CDO is a permissive ordinance (uses are allowed only where listed), whether and where a short-term rental is allowed turns on the underlying residential zoning and how the use is interpreted by the Zoning Administrator; the month-to-month-or-longer framing of Household Living is central to that analysis. Separately, North Carolina's Vacation Rental Act, G.S. Chapter 42A, governs the contractual rules for any rental of residential property for vacation, leisure or recreation for fewer than 90 days by a tenant who has a permanent residence elsewhere; it sets statewide requirements for vacation-rental agreements, deposits and tenant rights. Operators should confirm current zoning treatment and any business-license, occupancy-tax (Cabarrus County) and inspection obligations directly with the City of Concord Planning Department before listing a property, since interpretation and local rules can change.