Raleigh, NC Short-Term Rentals: Repeat Violator Strikes (2026)

E of the Raleigh Unified Development Ordinance treats short-term rentals as a zoning use requiring a miscellaneous zoning permit before any booking. The City tracks two separate revocation triggers. S. S. 14-292 (gambling), triggers automatic revocation. Second, and more commonly invoked, is the "two-strikes" rule: two or more "Verified Violations" within 365 days of any combination of a City Code zoning regulation, a noise regulation, or a nuisance prohibited by City Code Section 12-6002, all tied to that specific rental address. A Verified Violation requires a City code enforcement official, police officer, or judge to issue a notice, give the owner an opportunity to respond, and then enter an order or sanction, a civil penalty, corrective-measure mandate, cessation order, or criminal conviction.

An appealed violation still counts unless overturned; if reinstated on further appeal, it counts again. Beyond the strikes rule, every operator must keep a three-year log of all overnight lodgers, post the zoning permit number on all advertising and on the property itself, keep cooking facilities out of bedrooms, bar exterior advertising, and, in multi-unit buildings, limit short-term rental use to 25% of units or two units, whichever is greater. Once the City lawfully revokes a permit, the address is locked out of the short-term rental program for 365 days; no new or reinstated permit can be issued for that premise during that window.