Short-Term Rentals in North Carolina (2026)

Greensboro requires STR registration via zoning permit. Operators must display the permit number on the property and in…

Wilmington regulates short-term rentals through the Land Development Code. Operators must obtain an STR permit and…

Operating a short-term rental anywhere in unincorporated Iredell County has required a zoning permit since January 1…

Asheville requires a homestay permit before anyone rents a spare room or accessory unit inside a dwelling for stays…

In unincorporated Buncombe County, a single vacation rental (up to two homes / 9,000 sq ft) is a permitted use in most…

Charlotte does not currently require registration or licensing of short-term rentals at the city level. Operators must…

Cornelius regulates short-term rentals through the Land Development Code with zoning compliance requirements. NCGS…

North Carolina bars local governments from forcing short-term-rental owners to register their property. After Schroeder…

Durham has no short-term-rental registry. NCGS 160D-1207 forbids the city and county from making owners register rental…

North Carolina has no statewide short-term-rental licensing preemption, and neither Forsyth County nor Winston-Salem…

Guilford County has no standalone short-term-rental permit. A whole-house STR is treated as a lodging use under the…

High Point regulates short-term rentals through its Development Ordinance and zoning regulations. Operators must comply…

Matthews does not have a dedicated STR registration program as of 2026. NCGS 160D-1207(c) limits municipal authority to…

Pitt County has no separate short-term rental ordinance. Paid overnight lodging in a private home is regulated as a…

Short-term rentals (30 days or less) require a zoning permit from the City of Raleigh, renewed annually. Permitted as a…

Wake County itself does not issue a single short-term rental permit for unincorporated areas: the Wake County Unified…

Winston-Salem regulates short-term rentals through its Unified Development Ordinances. NCGS 160D-1207 restricts cities…

Huntersville does not maintain a local STR registry. Under NCGS 160D-1207, NC cities cannot impose pre-occupancy…

Raleigh's UDO bans short-term rental guests in residential districts from holding special events or gatherings on the…

Short-term rentals get no noise exemption. Fayetteville City Code Chapter 17 caps residential sound at 60 dB(A) daytime…

Short-term-rental guests must obey the City of Durham noise ordinance (Code Chapter 26). Amplified sound may not exceed…

Greensboro bars short-term rental hosts from allowing publicly announced or promoted gatherings that draw more than…

Short-term rental guests in unincorporated Wake County are subject to Chapter 92 of the Wake County Code (adopted…

North Carolina imposes statewide sales tax on short-term rental accommodations and authorizes counties and cities to…

Wake County levies a 6% Room Occupancy Tax on the gross receipts from rental of any room, lodging or accommodation…

Homestay and short-term vacation rental owners in Asheville must pay occupancy and sales taxes on their rental income…

Brunswick County levies a 1% room occupancy tax on private residences and cottages rented for less than fifteen days in…

Short-term rentals in Cumberland County (including Fayetteville) owe a 6% county room occupancy tax on gross rental…

Durham County levies a 6% room occupancy tax on gross receipts from any room, lodging, or accommodation rented for…

Greensboro requires every short-term rental to pay all applicable taxes, including occupancy taxes, as a condition of…

Guilford County levies a 3% room occupancy and tourism development tax on the gross receipts from renting any room…

Short-term rental hosts in unincorporated Moore County must collect a three-percent room occupancy and tourism…

Short-term stays under 90 days in Orange County are subject to North Carolina sales tax (4.75% state plus 2.75% local…

Raleigh's UDO requires every short-term rental operator to pay applicable occupancy taxes, which the City Code sets at…

Rockingham County can levy a 3% room occupancy tax on short-term rental gross receipts, collected by the operator and…

Short-term vacation rentals in Asheville must provide off-street parking under Sec. 7-16-1(c)(64.1)d, which applies the…

Brunswick County, North Carolina's UDO treats a short-term rental of 10 days or less as a "Tourist Home" use and…

Buncombe County's Zoning Ordinance requires a vacation rental complex or rooming house to provide at least one…

Greensboro limits on-site parking for short-term rentals to one car per bedroom being rented, and the rental carries…

For the Bed & Breakfast Home lodging use, Guilford County's UDO requires two parking spaces for the residence plus one…

A Buncombe County vacation rental complex may contain no more than 10 separate vacation rental units; anything larger…

Durham sets no short-term-rental-specific headcount, but the UDO's overnight-lodging category caps guest capacity: a…

Greensboro caps how many people can sleep in a short-term rental: the Land Development Ordinance allows no more than…

Iredell County caps every short-term rental at two guests per bedroom plus two more under Land Development Code…

Wilmington caps homestay lodging, an owner-occupied short-term rental, at one fewer guest room than the home has…

Every homestay and short-term vacation rental in Asheville must carry liability insurance covering the rental use…

Guilford County does not mandate short-term-rental liability insurance in its ordinances. NC law also caps rental fees…

Durham sets no cap on how many nights per year a home may be rented short-term. North Carolina law (NCGS 160D-1207)…

Asheville homestays must be run in person: Sec. 7-16-1(c)(9)d requires the permitted full-time resident to be on the…

Durham has no rule forcing a host to be present during every stay, but its owner-occupied lodging use requires a…

Greensboro's Land Development Ordinance defines two short-term rental types, and only a Homestay qualifies as the…

Guilford County requires on-site residency only for the Bed & Breakfast Home use, which must be the owner's or…

Pitt County zones bed and breakfast inns as the county's closest analog to a short-term rental, and its ordinance…

Asheville homestays can only be run from the operator's single primary home. Sec. 7-16-1(c)(9)d states a person can…

Durham imposes no blanket primary-residence rule on short-term rentals, and NCGS 160D-1207 limits how it could. But the…

For the Bed & Breakfast Home use, yes. Guilford County's UDO requires the bed-and-breakfast to be the permanent…

Charlotte cannot legally restrict short-term rentals to primary residences only. NC appellate rulings, particularly…

Stays exceeding 30 consecutive days at a Charlotte short-term rental shift to long-term tenancy under North Carolina…

Stays of 30 days or longer in a Greensboro home generally fall outside the city's short-term rental rules and instead…

Greensboro can pull a short-term rental's zoning permit after just two verified violations of any city ordinance on the…

Raleigh's UDO revokes a short-term rental's zoning permit once any resident, resident manager, or operator racks up two…