Short-term rentals in Pine Knoll Shores, explained properly.

Sec. 2.21(A)(1) bars signs or demarcations that promote or identify a short-term or "vacation" rental where they are visible from the street or adjacent properties. This applies to short-term rental of detached single-family dwellings and multi-family dwelling units.

Sec. 2.21(A)(3) requires owners, their agents and occupants to make all reasonable efforts to minimize the impact of noise, trash and recycling, and motor vehicle parking. Occupants must comply with Sec. 30-565 (Noise), Sec. 42-1 (Garbage and Trash Removal) and Section 50 (Traffic and Motor Vehicles) of the Town Code of Ordinances. The required in-house notice summarizes the trash and parking rules: trash and recycling go in roll-away carts on the side or rear of single-family premises (dumpsters on condominium campuses), carts go to the curb only in the contracted pickup timeframe, and the notice says no on-street parking is allowed and that parking within the right-of-way of any public street is prohibited between 12:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. The noise, trash and traffic sections of the Town Code were not read.

Sec. 2.21(A)(5) sets the wording of the notice, titled "Notice of Town of Pine Knoll Shores Vacation Rental Regulations". It covers six items: emergencies (call 911), the two-persons-per-bedroom occupancy limit, noise, trash and recycling, motor vehicle parking, and enforcement. The enforcement item says violation of the provisions may result in early termination of the vacation rental and eviction of the occupants by the property owner.

Sec. 2.21(A)(6) says "reasonable steps" include, without limitation: promptly contacting occupants when notified of a violation of a Town ordinance and ordering them to cease and desist; contacting law enforcement when a reasonable person would deem its assistance necessary under the conditions then prevailing; and, when applicable and reasonable, starting expedited eviction procedures against the occupants as provided in G.S. Chapter 42A, Article 4 (Vacation Rental Act).

Sec. 2.21(A)(4) says the owner of a dwelling rented for short-term rentals is subject to paying sales and occupancy tax and directs owners to the Carteret County Finance Department, Attn: Occupancy Tax, 302 Court House Square, Beaufort, NC 28516. This page gives no tax rate and does not total any taxes.

Sec. 2.21(A)(7)(d): violation of a stop work order issued under the repeated-violations subsection subjects the offender to a civil penalty payable to the Town of $1,000.00 per day of the period of violation, in addition to other remedies provided elsewhere in the Ordinance or under N.C.G.S. 160A-175. The Town Code's general penalty provisions were not read.

Chapter 42A of the North Carolina General Statutes (the Vacation Rental Act) applies to any person or business that acts as a landlord or real estate broker in the rental or management of residential property for vacation rental. A vacation rental is the rental of residential property for vacation, leisure or recreation purposes for fewer than 90 days by a person who has a place of permanent residence to which he or she intends to return. The Act does not apply to lodging at hotels, motels, tourist camps and other places regulated under Chapter 72, rentals to people temporarily renting while travelling away from their primary residence for business or employment, rentals to people with no other place of primary residence, or rentals for no more than nominal consideration. The sections we read cover rental agreements, trust accounts and deposits, eviction, repairs and broker duties; they do not set a state permit or zoning rule for short-term rentals, and local zoning and permit rules are covered on each city page.

A landlord or real estate broker and the tenant must execute a vacation rental agreement for every vacation rental covered by the Act. No agreement is valid and enforceable unless the tenant accepted it by signing, by paying money to the landlord or broker after receiving it, or by taking possession after receiving it. The agreement must carry the notice set out in G.S. 42A-11 and describe how advance funds are handled, permitted processing and cleaning fees, and the other items listed in that section. A real estate broker who uses a non-conforming agreement or none is guilty of an unfair trade practice and cannot start an expedited eviction.

If a tenant must pay rent or fees in advance (other than a security deposit), the landlord or real estate broker must deposit the payments in a trust account at a federally insured depository institution or authorized trust institution no later than three banking days after receipt. Before occupancy the landlord or broker may not disburse more than 50 percent of the total rent, apart from fees owed to third parties for goods, services or benefits procured for the tenant and permitted administrative fees if the agreement authorizes them. Funds collected for sales or occupancy taxes and tenant security deposits cannot be disbursed from the trust account before the tenancy ends or the tenant materially breaches, except as a refund to the tenant.

G.S. 42A-3(a) says G.S. 160D-1117 applies to properties covered by the Vacation Rental Act. G.S. 160D-1117 lets a local inspection department make periodic inspections, subject to the governing board's directions, for unsafe, unsanitary or otherwise hazardous and unlawful conditions in buildings or structures within its planning and development regulation jurisdiction, and to enter premises at reasonable hours on presentation of proper credentials. Inspections of dwellings must follow G.S. 160D-1207, which we have not read, so the conditions for entering a dwelling are not described here.

G.S. 42A-39 requires the property manager of a vacation rental (a landlord or real estate broker with primary responsibility for the listing, supervision or maintenance) to put in place, before initially listing, a procedure for reporting suspected human trafficking to the National Human Trafficking Hotline or local law enforcement. The property manager, and employees or contractors who oversee the rental, clean it or handle check-in and check-out, must complete human trafficking awareness training. For rentals first offered on or after July 1, 2025 the property manager trains before the rental is offered and others within 60 days of first providing services, then every two years; for rentals offered before July 1, 2025 the training is due by June 30, 2027, then every two years. Listing platforms (accommodation facilitators) must notify property managers and obtain a training certification. The Department of Labor may impose administrative penalties for willful and knowing violations of $500, $1,000 and $2,000 for the first, second and third and later violations.