The Oswald Group at eXp Realty
Only with one of the town's 400 short-term rental permits. Mount Pleasant caps short-term rentals at 400 homes for the whole town, new applicants go on a waitlist once they are taken, and a permit does not pass to a buyer when the house sells.
Current permit holders reapply every year from November 15 to December 15. This page covers the cap and the waitlist, the yearly permit, where short-term rentals are not allowed, what happens when a rental sells, and what to check on an address before you make an offer.
By Jeremiah Oswald, a Realtor, short-term rental expert and investor with The Oswald Group at eXp Realty, working across the Lowcountry. Rules checked against the Town of Mount Pleasant's zoning code and town documents on 11 November 2026.
The cap
Mount Pleasant's zoning code says the number of homes used as short-term rentals can never be more than 400. It is a fixed number, so it does not grow as the town builds.
No more than 400 homes in the whole town can be short-term rentals at one time, wherever they are in Mount Pleasant.
Once all 400 are taken, new applicants ask the town to put them on its short-term rental waitlist.
The town does not publish a live count. It had issued 364 in January 2025, according to the Post and Courier, so ask the town before you count on a permit.
The town's short-term rentals page still describes an older cap of 1 percent of the homes in town. The zoning code now sets the number at 400.
Sources: the Town of Mount Pleasant zoning code, Part 6, Short-Term Rentals (§§ 156.515 to 156.524), and the town's short-term rentals page, checked on 11 November 2026.
The permit
A Mount Pleasant short-term rental permit is good for one year, and the town will not issue a short-term rental business license without it.
| Step | When | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Renewal | Nov 15 to Dec 15 | Current permit holders reapply every year in this window. |
| New applicants | When a permit opens | Once all 400 are taken, new applicants wait on the town's list. |
| Application fee | $250 | A non-refundable application review fee, according to the town's page |
| Documents | Each application | An owner affidavit, current liability insurance, proof of property taxes paid, and a site plan showing the rental and its parking |
| Business license | After the permit | The permit comes first. The town requires it before it issues a short-term rental business license. |
Confirm the dates and the fee with the town each year, since its web page and its zoning code do not always match.
Where it is not allowed
Even when a permit is open, some homes in Mount Pleasant cannot be rented short term at all.
Short-term rentals are not allowed in multi-family dwellings, as the town's zoning code defines them.
Short-term rentals are not allowed in the Old Village Historic District.
They are not allowed in neighborhoods whose HOA covenants prohibit short-term rentals, so read the covenants, not just the listing.
An entire house, an accessory dwelling or up to six rooms in a house. The home must be a legal dwelling with a certificate of occupancy.
When a rental sells
A Mount Pleasant short-term rental permit does not transfer when the property is sold.
The one exception is the permit holder's death, when the permit can pass to an immediate family member who owned the home with them as a joint tenant. Anyone else who buys the house applies for a permit of their own and, if all 400 are taken, waits on the list. So a Mount Pleasant listing marketed as an Airbnb is selling a house, not a permit.
Compared
Three nearby towns, three very different sets of rules.
| Rule | Mount Pleasant | Isle of Palms | North Charleston |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cap on rentals | 400 town-wide | None | 60 permits per council district, and 4 of the 10 districts are full |
| What you need | Yearly town permit | City STR license | Short-term rental permit and a business license |
| Yearly deadline | Nov 15 to Dec 15 | License fee due by April 30 | Permit renewal by February 28, business license by April 30 |
Isle of Palms as checked on 9 November 2026 and North Charleston on 4 November 2026. More on the Isle of Palms and North Charleston pages.
Before you make an offer
Run them in order. The first three tell you whether a permit is possible at all.
The town's cap and permit apply only inside the Town of Mount Pleasant, and a Mount Pleasant mailing address does not prove the house is in town. Outside town limits, Charleston County's rules apply instead.
Multi-family buildings, the Old Village Historic District and neighborhoods whose HOA covenants ban short-term rentals are out, even when a permit is open.
The town does not publish how many of the 400 are open or how long the waitlist is. Ask before you count on a permit.
The seller's permit ends at the sale, so value the house on what it earns as a long-term rental and treat short-term income as upside you still have to win.
Run the numbers as a short-term rental and as a long-term rental. The full method is on the Charleston STR property analysis page.
More for investors
For properties you can act on now, the Airbnb Investment Hot Sheet lists current Lowcountry investment properties with projected cash flow, return and tax benefits for each. The rules for nearby towns are on the Isle of Palms, North Charleston and Hanahan pages, and how permits compare in the City of Charleston and the rest of the area is on the how to buy a short-term rental in Charleston page. Loan options are on the financing page. For how we work with short-term rental investors, start at the Charleston short-term rental investment specialist page.
We will tell you whether it can be a short-term rental under the town's rules, where the permit stands, and what it can earn as a short-term or long-term rental.
Book a ConsultationThe Oswald Group at eXp Realty. Rules on this page were checked against the Town of Mount Pleasant's zoning code and town documents on 11 November 2026. This page is investment insight, not legal advice. Short-term rental rules change often, so confirm them with the town for the specific address before you invest. Revenue projections are estimates and are not guaranteed. Equal Housing Opportunity.