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

The Unified Development Code (Appendix A), at the Lodging use category description, states that short-term rentals are classified as either bed-and-breakfast (up to 5 rooms or a whole-house rental) or hotel/motel (more than 5 rooms in total or in a single structure, regardless of whether rooms are rented separately or jointly). Table 5-1, Table of Permitted Uses, at § 5.3.3 shows 'Bed and breakfast' marked 'S' (Special Use Permit required) in every residential district, AR, R-80, R-30 and R-8, and 'P' (permitted by-right) only in the NB and GB commercial districts; it is prohibited ('-') in HI.

That means an operator renting out rooms or a whole house short-term in any of Franklin County's residential zoning districts must go through the Board of Adjustment's special use permit process rather than simply registering the use, while the same use in a Neighborhood Business or General Business district needs no special use hearing. A hotel/motel-classified short-term rental follows the Lodging category's separate table row instead, which is more restrictive in the residential columns and permitted only with a special use permit in GB. Regardless of classification, the Lodging use standards require every short-term rental to provide at least one off-street parking space per rental bedroom.

Special use permit applications go through the UDO's standard review procedures in Article 4, and a granted permit's conditions are enforceable the same as any other UDO requirement; violating those conditions is treated as a UDO violation under Article 3, exposing the operator to civil penalties of up to $500.00 per day or prosecution as a Class 3 misdemeanor.