Short-Term Rental Laws in Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston's 2018 ordinance imposes a strict 4-category STR licensing system with effective caps. Categories: (1) Commercial STR in commercial/mixed-use zones (no cap, broadly permitted); (2) Old/Historic District (OHD/Cannonborough/Elliotborough) Residential STR — capped, owner-occupied, must be in primary residence with operator present; (3) Single-family residential STR outside historic district — owner-occupied + primary residence only, ≤3 bedrooms rented; (4) Workforce/affordable carve-outs for limited circumstances. The peninsula-wide effective cap has historically held citywide active STR permits in the ~2,500–3,500 range, with new applications conditional on existing permit availability + zoning verification. Secondary-market transfer of permits is restricted but does occur via property sale.

Old/Historic District (OHD) covers downtown peninsula south of the Crosstown — Category 2 residential STR there requires owner-occupancy + primary residence. Outside the historic district, Category 3 residential STR also requires owner-occupancy. Commercial-zone STR (Category 1) is the only investor-friendly category and is concentrated in King Street commercial corridor, Upper King mixed-use, and West Ashley commercial overlays. Neighboring Mount Pleasant, Folly Beach, Sullivan's Island, Isle of Palms, and James Island are SEPARATE jurisdictions with their own rules — Mount Pleasant and Sullivan's Island in particular are far more restrictive than Charleston city proper.

Operators must hold a short-term rental permit before listing. See the official permit portal.

STRs are limited to the operator's primary residence.

Charleston Department of Planning, Preservation & Sustainability + Livability Division actively enforce with platform data feeds and zoning-by-parcel verification. Operating without a permit: $1,087 first violation + $1,087 each subsequent violation (daily stacking permitted). Annual permit renewal requires primary-residence re-verification (Categories 2 and 3). The Category 1 commercial-zone path is the cleanest investor route. Charleston County collects the 2% accommodations tax separately and cross-references with the city permit registry.

Combined short-term lodging tax in Charleston is approximately 14.000% of gross nightly revenue (state sales + state TRT + local TRT + applicable resort/city options).

SC State sales tax 6% + Charleston County local option 1% + Charleston Accommodations Tax 2% + Charleston City Hospitality Tax 2% + state accommodations tax 3% — combined ~14.0% on transient lodging

Verify the current combined rate via the Utah State Tax Commission before remitting — rates drift quarterly.