"Can I put it on Airbnb?" is one of the questions I get most, and it is also the one buyers get wrong most often. People assume short-term rental is a property feature, like a garage. It is not. It is a permission, and whether you have it depends almost entirely on which side of an invisible town line the house sits on. Two nearly identical homes a mile apart can have completely opposite answers.
Read this first. This is a plain-English overview, not legal advice, and short-term rental (STR) rules in this metro change constantly. Folly Beach is mid-review right now, Mount Pleasant is winding its program down, Charleston County just tightened enforcement, and there are bills moving at the state level. Before you buy anything for rental income, confirm the current ordinance for the specific address with that jurisdiction, and read the HOA covenants. A "yes" this year can become a "no" next year.
The one-sentence version
From most restrictive to least, the mainland reads: Mount Pleasant (closing to newcomers) is tighter than the City of Charleston (owner-occupied only, no investor Airbnb), which is tighter than North Charleston (allowed but capped), which is tighter than unincorporated Charleston County (the most open). The beach and island towns each run their own program, and every one of them has a catch. Here is the honest map.
City of Charleston: owner-occupied only
The city allows short-term rentals, but only in a home that is the owner's primary residence, verified against the property tax records, with a resident sleeping on-site each night of a guest's stay and a maximum of four adults. There are three permit categories by location (the Old and Historic District, the rest of the peninsula, and off-peninsula areas like James, Johns, and Daniel islands and West Ashley), each capped at one unit per property. The only lane for a non-resident investor is a narrow commercial carve-out inside a small STR overlay zone. In plain terms: you cannot buy a house in the city as a pure investment and Airbnb it. That is by design.
The data behind the rules
Where the city's licensed short-term rentals actually are
There are roughly 854 active short-term rental permits on file with the City of Charleston. They are not spread evenly. About 715 of them, the large majority, sit in the upper peninsula, with only a scattering everywhere else. That is what "owner-occupied only, three permit categories by location" looks like on a map: a handful of blocks where legal STRs actually cluster, not a citywide free-for-all.
Source: City of Charleston active short-term rental permits (public records), grouped by area. Counts are approximate, reflect permits on file at the time of writing, and do not include individual addresses. Being near a licensed STR does not mean a given property qualifies; STR eligibility is set per parcel by the city's rules. Verify any specific address with the City before you count on rental income.
Mount Pleasant: effectively closed to newcomers
Mount Pleasant is the most restrictive in the metro, and it is phasing its program out. The town is not accepting new applications, only a waitlist, and permits carry an owner-occupancy requirement similar to the city's. If a Mount Pleasant listing hints at rental income, treat that as a red flag until the town confirms otherwise in writing. Do not buy here expecting to short-term rent.
North Charleston: allowed, but capped
North Charleston is more accessible, and investor rentals are permitted, but the city caps STR permits at 60 per city council district, and several districts have already hit the cap and gone to a waitlist. You need both an STR permit and a separate business license per unit, plus building and fire inspections. Owner-occupied room rentals are exempt from the cap. Accessory dwelling units cannot be used as STRs. Check the city's permit-availability dashboard for the district before you assume there is room.
Unincorporated Charleston County: the most open, for now
Much of James Island, West Ashley, Johns Island, and Wadmalaw sits outside any city limit, in unincorporated Charleston County, which is the most permissive jurisdiction and the clearest path for an investor. It runs on day-caps rather than an owner-occupancy mandate, in three tiers: a Limited rental of your primary residence (capped around 72 days a year), an Extended rental of an investment property (up to roughly 144 days, but requiring a Special Exception from the Board of Zoning Appeals and limited to specific zones), and year-round commercial in nonresidential districts. One caution: for years the county had weak enforcement, and in 2026 it moved to fix that, using software to catch unpermitted rentals and advancing a penalty amendment. Confirm the current tier rules and whether the new penalties passed before you count on this.
The beach and island towns, each its own animal
Folly Beach: capped at 800, and under review
Folly voters capped investor-owned short-term rentals at 800 in a 2023 referendum, and the courts have upheld the cap. Owner-occupied rentals are not part of that cap. There has been a waitlist, and in 2026 the town opened a full review of the ordinance, so both the cap and the rules could shift before the 2027 licensing year. If you are buying for rental income, ask exactly where the investor cap and waitlist stand today.
Isle of Palms: no cap, but licensed
IOP voters rejected a proposed cap, so there is no numeric limit, but you still need a business license (a few hundred dollars, scaled to rental income), a 24-hour contact who can be on-site within an hour, and you must rent a single-family home in its entirety. Owner-occupancy is not required. This is one of the more investor-friendly beach markets, which is reflected in its prices.
Sullivan's Island: effectively banned
Sullivan's Island has not permitted new rentals under 30 days since roughly 2002. A small number of properties are grandfathered, and there is ongoing litigation around fractional and LLC co-ownership models, but the practical answer is no. Do not buy on Sullivan's expecting to short-term rent.
Kiawah and Seabrook: allowed, resort-style, zone caps
Both islands allow short-term rentals and are built around resort rental programs, but both cap by zone. Kiawah limits licenses to about 20 percent island-wide in its R-1 and parts of R-2 districts (uncapped in the villa areas), issued first-come, first-served. Seabrook runs permit caps inside and outside an STR overlay district. On either island, confirm whether the specific property sits in a capped zone and whether it is tied to a resort rental program.
Summerville and the growth corridor
The Town of Summerville allows short-term rentals only in certain zoning districts and requires owner-occupancy (majority ownership, on-site during guest registration, and the home as your legal residence for most of the year), which effectively blocks pure investor rentals. For the master-planned communities in the corridor (Nexton, Cane Bay, Carnes Crossroads), there is a second layer: the recorded HOA covenants commonly restrict or prohibit short-term rentals regardless of what the town or county allows. Never assume. Pull the recorded covenants for the exact community.
The two landmines almost nobody checks
- The county line. A home marketed as "Charleston" or "Summerville" might be inside the city limits, inside the town, or in the unincorporated county, and the rules are completely different. The mailing address does not tell you. The jurisdiction does.
- The HOA. A homeowners association's recorded covenants can ban short-term rentals even where the town says yes, and the HOA rule controls. This is common in newer master-planned communities. The town saying "allowed" means nothing if your HOA says "no."
The taxes you owe either way
Wherever it is legal, a short-term rental owes South Carolina's 7 percent state tax on stays under 90 days (5 percent sales tax plus 2 percent state accommodations tax), plus a local accommodations tax of up to 3 percent, which lands the total on the beach islands around 12 to 14 percent. You register and file through the state's MyDORWAY system, though platforms like Airbnb may collect part of it for you. Budget it. It is not optional.
Before you buy: the verification checklist
- Confirm the jurisdiction for the exact address, not the neighborhood. City, town, or unincorporated county changes everything.
- Call that jurisdiction's zoning or business-license office. Ask directly: is an STR allowed at this address, is there a cap or waitlist, and can an investor (versus an owner-occupant) get a license.
- Get the zoning district in writing for the parcel. Several towns only allow STRs in specific zones.
- Pull the recorded HOA covenants for any community with an association. An HOA ban overrides town permission.
- Confirm the minimum-night rule (Sullivan's and Seabrook lean toward 30-day minimums).
- Register for state and local accommodations tax on MyDORWAY and clarify who collects.
- Ask what is changing. Folly's review and the pending state bills mean today's answer may not hold for next year's licensing cycle.
- Get it in writing, and use a local attorney for anything involving grandfathering, fractional ownership, or a borderline zone.
The bottom line
"Great rental potential" in a listing is a marketing line, not a permission slip. In this market, the difference between a smart investment and an expensive mistake is often a single phone call to the right zoning office and a careful read of the covenants, before you write the offer, not after. That is exactly the call I make for you. Tell me the address and how you want to use it, and I will find out what it can actually do.
Common questions
Can you Airbnb a house in Charleston SC?
It depends entirely on the jurisdiction. The City of Charleston allows short-term rentals only in an owner's primary residence, so pure investor Airbnbs are effectively banned. Mount Pleasant is winding its program down and is closed to new operators. North Charleston allows them but caps permits at 60 per council district. Unincorporated Charleston County is the most permissive, with day-capped tiers. Always verify the current ordinance for the specific address before buying.
Which Charleston area towns allow short-term rentals?
As of 2026, short-term rentals are allowed with restrictions in the City of Charleston (owner-occupied only), North Charleston (capped at 60 per district), Isle of Palms (licensed, no cap), Folly Beach (owner-occupied rentals uncapped, investor rentals capped at 800), Kiawah and Seabrook (zone and overlay caps), Summerville (certain zones, owner-occupied), and unincorporated Charleston County (day-capped tiers). Mount Pleasant is closing its program to new operators, and Sullivan's Island effectively prohibits rentals under 30 days. Rules change often, so verify the current ordinance.
Can you short-term rent on Sullivan's Island or in Mount Pleasant?
Both are effectively off-limits to new operators. Sullivan's Island has not permitted new rentals under 30 days since around 2002, with only a few grandfathered properties. Mount Pleasant is phasing out its short-term rental program and is not accepting new applications, only a waitlist. Do not buy in either expecting to short-term rent without confirming the current status directly with the town.
Does my HOA affect whether I can Airbnb my Charleston home?
Yes, and it is the most overlooked issue. A homeowners association's recorded covenants can restrict or prohibit short-term rentals even where the town or county would allow them, and the HOA rule controls. This is common in master-planned communities. Always pull the recorded covenants for the specific community before assuming you can rent.
What taxes do short-term rentals pay in South Carolina?
Short-term rental operators must collect and remit South Carolina's 7 percent state tax (5 percent sales tax plus 2 percent state accommodations tax) on stays under 90 days, plus any local accommodations tax of up to 3 percent, which brings the total on the Charleston beach islands to roughly 12 to 14 percent. Taxes are filed through the state's MyDORWAY system, though platforms like Airbnb may collect some on the operator's behalf.