No pending change foundLast verified 2026-10-25

Charleston County (unincorporated) short-term rental host checklist

Work through each step and tick the box when it is done. County: Charleston. Every line comes from the official sources cited under it.

Full Charleston County (unincorporated) rules page

Property address Date checked

Not legal advice. This is a plain-language summary of public sources, last checked 2026-10-25. Rules change, and some items are pending. Always verify with the municipality or county before you buy, list, or renew. Each fact links to its official source.

Step 1. Confirm the property can be a short-term rental

Allowed and where

Limited Home Rental (LHR): RM, AG-15, AG-10, AG-8, AGR, RR, S-3, R-4, MHS, UR (including Goat Island).
Extended Home Rental (EHR): AG-8 and AGR (bona fide agriculture plus owner voting or ID address), S-3, R-4, MHS, by Board of Zoning Appeals Special Exception.
Commercial Guest House (CGH): RO, GO, NC, RC, CC.
Dewees Island is handled separately (Art. 5.16).
Tents, RVs, boats, sheds and garages may not be used as STRs.

Source: www.charlestoncounty.gov | www.charlestoncounty.gov

Caps or wait list

No countywide number cap.
Day caps: LHR 72 rental days per year per lot; EHR 144 days per year; CGH no limit.

Source: www.charlestoncounty.gov | www.postandcourier.com

Owner-occupancy

LHR must be owner-occupied.
EHR and CGH have no owner-occupancy requirement.

Source: www.charlestoncounty.gov

Step 2. Get the permit and business license

Permit or license

County STR zoning permit (LHR, EHR or CGH) plus a business license; both numbers must appear on every ad.
Building Safety Permit required.
Max stay 29 consecutive days.

Source: www.charlestoncounty.gov | www.charlestoncounty.org

Fees

Annual zoning fee per the current renewal packet: LHR $100, EHR $200, CGH $300.
An older 2018 fee schedule shows $50, $100 and $150, so confirm the current figure with Zoning.
Business license fee: unknown.

Source: www.charlestoncounty.org

Step 3. Register for, collect and remit lodging taxes

Taxes on stays

12% total: state sales 5%, state accommodations 2%, local option 1%, transportation 1%, education capital improvement 1% (10%, remitted to SCDOR per ST-575); Charleston County accommodations fee 2% (Ord. 910, stays under 30 days, remitted to Charleston County Revenue Collections by the 20th).
Airbnb and Vrbo collect and remit the state taxes and the County fee here; the host still reports monthly gross receipts to the County.
Mandatory cleaning and other required fees are part of the taxable rental charge; optional services the guest can decline are not (SCDOR Sales Tax Manual Ch. 11, Q6 to Q9).

Source: www.dor.sc.gov | www.dor.sc.gov | www.charlestoncounty.gov | www.charlestoncounty.gov | www.charlestoncounty.gov | www.airbnb.com | help.vrbo.com | dor.sc.gov

Step 4. Set guest and parking limits in the listing and house rules

Occupancy limit

No fixed guest number found.
Applications must list bedrooms and designated sleeping areas; using 5 or more bedrooms may trigger additional building code requirements.

Source: www.charlestoncounty.gov | www.charlestoncounty.org

Parking

1 off-street space per permitted bedroom and per designated sleeping area, plus the parking the principal use already requires.

Source: www.charlestoncounty.gov

Step 5. Put renewals and record keeping on your calendar

Registration and renewal

Renew by Dec 31 each year.
Within 15 days of LHR permit issuance or renewal, the county digitally notifies Parties in Interest and Community Interest lists.

Source: www.charlestoncounty.org | www.charlestoncounty.gov

Step 6. Check the latest status before you buy, list or renew

Recent changes (dated)

Feb 24, 2026: Ord. 2377 lets the Zoning Director deny STR applications for up to 2 years after enforcement finds unpermitted operation (Post and Courier reported 196 unpermitted properties vs 220 permits issued in 2025).
Apr 28, 2026: Ord. 2387 adopted (neighbor digital notice, restated permit table).
Oct 13, 2026: Ord. 2409 adopted (bedrooms plus sleeping areas on applications, tents/RVs/boats/sheds/garages barred, parking per bedroom and sleeping area).

Source: www.charlestoncounty.gov | www.postandcourier.com | www.charlestoncounty.gov | www.charlestoncounty.gov

Next step: track your own dates. The $24 Coastal SC STR Permit and Renewal Tracker turns this checklist into your permit list: pick Charleston County (unincorporated) and the permit type, renewal rule, taxes and official link fill in, then each renewal counts down and turns red at 30 days.

Want every rule as data? The $19 Coastal SC STR Rules Data Pack has all 12 areas as a spreadsheet with source links, plus a renewal deadline calendar (.ics) with reminders. Or get the data pack, the tracker and the ListingLift Full Report Kit in the $49 Coastal SC Host Bundle.

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Online version: https://lowcountry-str-rules.pages.dev/charleston-county-host-checklist

Estimate the lodging tax on a booking in Charleston County (unincorporated) with the free Keel & Charter calculator.

What will you keep after taxes and fees? Try the free Charleston County (unincorporated) take-home calculator

All 12 area checklists | Coastal SC rules tracker home

Lowcountry Rules Alerts by Keel & Charter

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Host templates from Keel & Charter

Simple spreadsheets and printables for running a rental. Instant download.

Get the data pack

The Coastal SC STR Rules Data Pack: every rule on this site as a spreadsheet (CSV and Excel) with source links, a renewal deadline calendar (.ics) with reminders, and a 1-page quick start. $19.

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Permit and Renewal Tracker: $24

Pick your area and the permit type, renewal rule, tax stack and official link fill in. Type your expiry dates and each renewal turns red at 30 days or less, gold at 31 to 60. A Tax Filing Log and a Renewal Calendar with 17 published deadlines. Excel, works in Google Sheets.

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Coastal SC Host Bundle: $49

Three tools in one download: the $19 Rules Data Pack, the $24 Permit and Renewal Tracker and the $39 ListingLift Full Report Kit, an offline tool that turns your own listing into a printable fix list. $33 less than buying all three.

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