The Oswald Group at eXp Realty
Yes, in six of North Charleston's ten council districts. The city allows 60 short-term rental permits per council district, and Districts 5, 6, 8 and 10 are at or over that cap, so a new permit there goes on a waiting list.
That makes the address the first thing to check, before any revenue estimate. This page covers where permits are still open, what the permit requires, whether it survives a sale, and what to check 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 and permit counts checked against the City of North Charleston's permit page and live permit data on 4 November 2026.
The cap
The cap counts permits by council district, and room rentals inside a home the owner lives in do not count toward it. When a district is full, new applications are processed in the order they came in as permits free up, with no set date for when that happens.
| Council district | Status | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 8 and 10 | Over the cap | District 8 has about 160 permits and District 10 about 200. Park Circle sits in these two districts, and together they hold more permits than the other eight districts combined. No new permits until each drops below 60. |
| 5 and 6 | At the cap | 60 permits each, with more applications already waiting. |
| 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and 9 | Below the cap | Between 1 and 32 permits each, so new permits can still be issued. |
Counts are issued permits in the city's live permit data on 4 November 2026. Districts 8 and 10 were already past the cap when it was adopted in 2025, and a permit in good standing can be renewed every year even in a district over it. The city's short-term rental dashboard shows the current counts and a district map.
The permit
These conditions come with every permit, and several of them change the revenue math, starting with how many guests you can book.
The owner, with proof of ownership. Each unit needs its own permit and its own business license.
Two per bedroom and eight in total, children included. The maximum has to be posted inside and shown in every listing. Weddings, parties and other events are not allowed.
One off-street or allocated space for every two bedrooms, up to four spaces.
Someone who answers a cellphone 24 hours a day and can be on site within 30 minutes of a call.
If there is an HOA or POA, it must not prohibit short-term rentals in its covenants or bylaws, and its approval goes in with the application.
Planning and Zoning should reply within one to three weeks, depending on volume. After that first approval, the property has to pass building and fire inspections and get its business license before the permit is issued.
$350 to apply, not refundable, and $250 to renew. The permit renews by February 28 every year and the business license by April 30.
A fourth notice of violation for zoning, noise or trash within a year voids the permit and the business license.
Buying or selling
No. A North Charleston permit belongs to the owner, not the house. It ends when the property sells, and the buyer applies from scratch, which in a full district means joining the end of the line.
In July 2026, a City Council committee removed a proposal that would have let a permit pass to a buyer for a $1,000 fee on top of the $350 application. The rest of that package, including a change that would leave rentals on business-zoned parcels out of the cap, was pulled before its final council vote. As of 4 November 2026, the city's short-term rental permit page still lists the rules as amended in 2025. The city is also rewriting its zoning code, where these rules sit, and officials expect to send the new code to the Planning Commission in 2027.
The ordinance allows a few narrow exceptions, such as inheritance and transfers between joint owners. If you are selling, price and market the property on what it can do for a buyer who has to apply again.
Before you make an offer
Run them in order. The first two can settle the short-term rental question for a property in minutes.
A North Charleston mailing address does not settle it. Some homes in the 29418 and 29420 zip codes sit in unincorporated Dorchester County, where the city's cap and permit do not apply and the county's rules do.
If it is District 5, 6, 8 or 10, plan on no short-term rental income for an open-ended stretch, and value the property on what it earns without it.
Budget your own application, inspections and business license, and the weeks they take. A listing's rental history shows what the house earned for its current owner, not what it can earn for you.
Where there is an HOA or POA, a short-term rental ban in its covenants ends the question, whatever the city allows.
Run the numbers as a short-term rental and as a mid-term or long-term rental. If it only works short-term and the district is full, it does not work yet. 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. How permits compare in Isle of Palms, Mount Pleasant, the City of Charleston and the rest of the area is on the how to buy a short-term rental in Charleston page, and 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 sits inside city limits, which council district it is in, whether a permit is open there, and what the property can earn with or without one.
Book a ConsultationThe Oswald Group at eXp Realty. Permit rules and counts on this page were checked against the City of North Charleston's short-term rental permit page and live permit data on 4 November 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice. Short-term rental rules change often, so confirm permit availability with the city for the specific address before you invest. Revenue projections are estimates and are not guaranteed. Equal Housing Opportunity.