North Carolina Short-Term Rental Laws (2026): State Rules, City Limits and Taxes
Short-term rentals are legal in North Carolina, and the state has drawn one unusual line around what cities may do about them: under G.S. 160D-1207(c), as read by the Court of Appeals in Schroeder v. City of Wilmington (2022), a city cannot require an owner to register or obtain a permit simply to rent a residential property. Zoning survives. A city may decide where whole-house rentals are allowed and attach parking, occupancy and operating standards, but it cannot run a registry, a lottery or a cap, which is what Wilmington tried and lost.
This guide is for hosts from the Outer Banks to the mountains who want the state rule, the tax structure and the city-by-city reality in one place, as part of our state roundup. Reviewed October 13, 2026. General information, not legal advice; confirm with the Department of Revenue, your county's occupancy tax office or the city before relying on it.
Key facts
- Schroeder v. City of Wilmington (N.C. Ct. App. 2022) held that G.S. 160D-1207(c) bars rental registration and permit requirements; Wilmington repealed its registration ordinance, dropped its cap and 400-foot spacing rule and refunded fees in May 2022. Zoning-based standards were left standing.
- North Carolina issues no state short-term rental license, permit or registration; the Vacation Rental Act (Chapter 42A) governs the landlord-tenant side of rentals under 90 days to travelers with a home elsewhere.
- Accommodations carry the 4.75 percent state sales tax plus a local rate of 2 to 2.75 percent, and county or city room occupancy taxes of roughly 1 to 8 percent; since 2020 a "facilitator" (Airbnb, Vrbo or a local rental agency) that collects the payment is the retailer responsible for the tax.
- Senate Bill 291 (2025–2026 session), which would bar bans, night caps and owner-occupancy rules while allowing a permit of up to $25, was referred to Senate Rules on March 17, 2025 and has not moved; SB 667 (2023) died December 13, 2024.
- Greenville adopted a Unified Development Ordinance amendment on August 13, 2026 separating owner-occupied homestays from whole-house rentals, with $1 million in liability insurance, a local contact and a one-year grace period for existing units.
Statewide rules
North Carolina's legislature has twice tried to write a statewide rental statute and twice stopped short, so the governing text is a landlord-tenant statute and a court decision. G.S. 160D-1207(c), part of the 2019 consolidation of planning and development law, forbids a local government from requiring a permit or registration as a condition of renting residential property except in narrow circumstances tied to code violations. Wilmington's 2019 ordinance required registration, capped whole-house rentals at 2 percent of parcels, spaced them 400 feet apart and filled the cap by lottery. The Court of Appeals struck all of it in Schroeder, and the UNC School of Government's Coates' Canons blog has mapped the consequences for every other city since: zoning yes, registry no.
What "zoning yes" means in practice is that a city can define short-term rental as a land use, allow it in some districts and not others, require a zoning permit tied to the use rather than to the act of renting, and set operating standards. Raleigh did exactly that in 2021. Asheville confines whole-home rentals to its Resort district. Greenville's 2026 amendment uses the same tool. The line between a prohibited "rental registration" and a permitted "zoning permit" is where the next lawsuit will be fought, and the Wake Forest Law Review's February 2026 survey of city practice is the best current map.
The Vacation Rental Act is the other state statute hosts meet. It defines a vacation rental as residential property rented for fewer than 90 days to a person with a permanent residence elsewhere, and it governs the written agreement, the handling of advance payments and expedited eviction of a holdover guest. It imposes no license.
Preemption bills keep coming. SB 291 would have barred cities from prohibiting residential short-term rentals, capping nights, requiring owner occupancy or classifying rentals as commercial, while permitting a permit of up to $25, a two-adults-per-bedroom limit, parking plans and residential-zone restrictions. It has sat in Senate Rules since March 17, 2025. Nothing in it is law.
HOA covenants are untouched by Schroeder. North Carolina applies a reasonableness test to rental amendments, a point developed in what courts have actually held about short-term rentals.
Major cities and counties
| Jurisdiction | Can you operate? | Key requirement | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asheville | Whole-home rentals only in the Resort district; elsewhere a homestay of one or two bedrooms with a full-time on-site host | Annual homestay permit (reported at $200 in the FY 2026–27 fee schedule); 6 percent Buncombe County occupancy tax | Unincorporated Buncombe County regulates by zoning with no dedicated permit |
| Charlotte | Yes; no city permit or registry, and the 2022 UDO dropped proposed rental rules | 8 percent Mecklenburg County room occupancy tax plus state and local sales tax | — |
| Raleigh | Yes as a limited use in ten zoning districts under TC-8-20 (effective March 4, 2021) | Zoning permit for the use; fee figures differ by source, so take it from the city | — |
| Wilmington | Yes; registration, cap and spacing rules repealed after Schroeder | Zoning standards only; New Hanover County occupancy tax | Post-Schroeder baseline for the whole state |
| Greenville | Yes, under the August 13, 2026 UDO amendment: homestay or whole-house lodging with a 90-day stay cap | $1 million liability insurance, local contact, citation schedule with revocation; one-year grace for existing units | Roughly 270 rentals affected |
| Dare County (Outer Banks) | Yes; the Vacation Rental Act market | County occupancy tax; town operating standards | — |
Charlotte is the market to watch. It has no rental program at all today, a point its own officials have confirmed, and the Mecklenburg occupancy tax is collected by the platforms. If the city ever moves, Schroeder means it moves through zoning.
Taxes
Three taxes attach to a North Carolina stay of fewer than 90 days. The state sales tax on accommodations is 4.75 percent of gross receipts, including any facilitator fee a guest must pay. The local sales tax adds 2 to 2.75 percent depending on the county. And room occupancy taxes, levied by counties and some cities under local acts, add roughly 1 to 8 percent: Buncombe County charges 6 percent, Mecklenburg 8 percent.
The 2020 facilitator provision decides who files. A facilitator, defined to include online platforms and traditional rental agencies, that collects the payment is the retailer and must collect and remit sales tax under G.S. 105-164.4F, and the same responsibility carries over to the occupancy tax. Airbnb's North Carolina page says it collects the state sales tax and all locally imposed occupancy taxes on bookings in the state; Vrbo collects on its own schedule. A direct booking has no facilitator, so the host is the retailer: register with the Department of Revenue for sales tax, register with the county (and city, where it levies separately) for occupancy tax, and file on each calendar. Even hosts whose platform bookings are fully covered may need a local occupancy tax registration to operate at all.
For a portfolio that spans the coast and the mountains, the county occupancy rate is the variable that changes most, which is why Haven's tax and accounting features store state, county, city and district rates per property with cited rate suggestions, so a direct booking in Buncombe and one in Dare each carry the right lines.
What changed in 2025 and 2026
- March 17, 2025: SB 291 referred to the Senate Committee on Rules and Operations; no further action as of this review.
- 2025: Charlotte kept its no-program stance; Mecklenburg County and the platforms continued occupancy tax collection without a city registry.
- February 2026: The Wake Forest Law Review published a survey of how North Carolina cities regulate rentals after Schroeder.
- July 2026: Greenville's Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously backed UDO language separating homestays from whole-house lodging.
- August 13, 2026: Greenville City Council adopted the amendment, with insurance, local-contact and citation rules and a one-year grace period.
- Not changed: No state license, no state registry and no preemption statute; Schroeder remains the controlling decision.
How to stay compliant
- Check the zoning district before you buy or list; in Asheville, Raleigh and Greenville it decides whether a whole-house rental is possible at all.
- If your city issues a zoning permit for the use, get it and renew it; if it asks for a "rental registration," ask on what authority, since Schroeder says it cannot.
- Register with the Department of Revenue for sales tax and with your county for occupancy tax before taking a direct booking.
- Confirm what your platforms remit; Airbnb's page covers state sales tax and local occupancy taxes, but your own site is yours to file.
- Use a written vacation rental agreement that satisfies Chapter 42A, and hold advance payments as the Act requires.
- Carry the liability coverage your city sets (Greenville: $1 million) and name a local contact.
- Post occupancy, parking and trash rules in the unit and list any permit number on every listing, including your direct booking site.
- Watch SB 291 and any successor; a $25 permit and a two-adults-per-bedroom rule would arrive statewide if it passes.
FAQ
Is Airbnb legal in North Carolina?
Yes. The state does not license or restrict short-term rentals, and cities cannot require a rental registration or permit under Schroeder. Cities can use zoning to decide where whole-house rentals are allowed, which is what Asheville, Raleigh and Greenville do.
Do I need a state license to host in North Carolina?
No. There is no state license, permit or registry. You need a Department of Revenue sales tax account and a county occupancy tax registration for direct bookings, plus any zoning permit your city attaches to the use.
What taxes do I pay on a North Carolina short-term rental?
State sales tax of 4.75 percent plus a local rate of 2 to 2.75 percent, and a county or city room occupancy tax of roughly 1 to 8 percent, on stays under 90 days. Platforms that collect the payment are responsible for remitting; you remit on direct bookings.
Can my North Carolina city ban short-term rentals?
It cannot require registration or a permit to rent, and it cannot cap or space rentals through a registry. It can zone whole-house rentals out of residential districts, as Asheville has, which for an investor property amounts to the same thing.
What changed in 2025 and 2026?
SB 291 was filed and stalled in 2025, and Greenville adopted the state's newest zoning-based program on August 13, 2026. Schroeder and the tax rules are unchanged.
Sources
- North Carolina General Assembly — Senate Bill 291 (2025–2026 session) (accessed October 2026)
- North Carolina General Assembly — SB 291 bill text (accessed October 2026)
- UNC School of Government, Coates' Canons — Short-term rental regulations after Schroeder (accessed October 2026)
- UNC School of Government, Coates' Canons — Occupancy taxes and Airbnb (accessed October 2026)
- Airbnb — Occupancy tax collection and remittance by Airbnb in North Carolina (accessed October 2026)
- Wake Forest Law Review — Short-term rentals and long-term consequences in North Carolina cities (accessed October 2026)
- City of Raleigh — Short Term Rentals (TC-8-20) (accessed October 2026)
- Watauga Democrat — NC Senate bill seeks to curb local control over short-term rentals (accessed October 2026)
- Citizen Portal — Greenville adopts short-term rental rules requiring insurance, local contacts (accessed October 2026)
- BNBCalc — Asheville short-term rental regulations: 2026 guide (accessed October 2026)
