Rock Hill, SC Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)
Key Facts
- New permit application fee
- $300.00
- Permit renewal application fee
- $200.00
- Where codified
- Code of Ordinances Appendix A, zoning fees
- Separate from
- 3% local accommodations tax under § 27-81
- Cross-referenced chapters
- Code Ch. 2, 9, 11, 27
Summary
Rock Hill charges a separate fee to operate a short-term rental rather than folding it into the accommodations tax. The city's fee schedule sets a $300.00 short-term rental permit application fee and a $200.00 renewal application fee, listed in Appendix A of the City Code under the zoning fee categories alongside rezoning and site plan review charges.
Various applicable fees referred to in the Code are set out in the following schedule: ... Short-term rental permit application: .....$300.00 ... Short-term rental permit renewal application: .....$200.00
Full Breakdown
00 to file a renewal application. These figures are the dollar amount a host pays the city to obtain or keep the underlying short-term rental permit; they are separate from the three percent local accommodations tax the city imposes under § 27-81 on gross guest charges from transient accommodations, which is grounded independently and covered on this site's hotel occupancy tax page. Appendix A's own cross-reference note ties this fee schedule back to Chapter 2 (Administration), Chapter 9 (Bonds), Chapter 11 (Businesses), and Chapter 27 (Taxation), confirming that these permit fees are a codified City Code charge rather than a discretionary amount staff can waive.
Because the fee sits with the zoning permit process rather than the accommodations-tax article, a host pays it when filing for or renewing the short-term rental permit itself, not on a monthly or per-stay basis the way lodging taxes are collected.
Violations & Fines
Appendix A does not itself set a penalty for skipping the permit fee; it simply fixes the charge. The underlying short-term rental permit requirement lives in the city's zoning permit process, and paying the $300.00 application fee or $200.00 renewal fee is a precondition the fee schedule establishes for that permit, under the same cross-referenced Chapters 2, 9, 11, and 27 of the City Code that Appendix A ties back to.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a Rock Hill short-term rental permit cost?
Is the short-term rental permit fee the same as an occupancy tax?
Where in the City Code is the short-term rental fee listed?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Rock Hill
How Rock Hill compares: Cities with the Highest Short-Term Rental Taxes·Compare Rock Hill to another location·View the South Carolina short-term rentals overview
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