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

Iredell County did not always require a permit to run a vacation rental; R68's closing paragraph fixed the date the rule took effect, stating that January 1, 2024, it shall be a violation of the Iredell County Land Development Code to operate a Short Term Rental without issuance of a zoning permit. To get that permit, R68(A) directs the property owner to submit an application through the Chapter 8 development-plan process, the same track used for other zoning permits in the county. The Zoning Administrator can ask for a site plan showing compliance with the rest of R68, including the deed reference for the property, the number of bedrooms, the location of any signage, and where the required off-street parking will sit.

The application also requires the owner to acknowledge, in writing, that complying with the county's zoning permit does not excuse compliance with any restrictive covenants, HOA rules, or lender requirements tied to the property, since a mortgage or deed of trust can separately forbid short-term rental use. Two grounds allow the Zoning Administrator to deny or pull a permit already issued: the owner submits incomplete or inaccurate information or fails to show how the R68 standards will be met, or the property has racked up two or more verified zoning violations of R68.

Once a permit is revoked for either reason, the county will not approve a new STR permit for the same property until a full year has passed from the revocation date. The permit is also tied to ownership rather than the property forever: it automatically expires whenever the Dwelling Unit is sold or otherwise transferred, so a buyer of a former STR has to apply for a new zoning permit before renting the unit short-term.