Short-term rentals in Raleigh, explained properly.

The UDO treats a dwelling unit as a short-term rental when it can be used for overnight lodging provided to renters for no longer than 30 days for compensation. The City's page uses the same wording. We did not find a minimum-stay requirement in the sections we read.

For single-unit and two-unit living, the premises shall not be used for Live-Work or Day Care, Home. For multi-unit living, the dwelling unit shall not be used for Live-Work or Day Care, Home. The application asks the applicant to confirm this.

UDO Sec. 6.4.6 bars cooking facilities in any bedroom of a short-term rental. Cooking facilities include a refrigerator larger than seven cubic feet, a stovetop range that runs on 220-volt electric service, any appliance that runs on natural gas, and any cooktop with more than two cooking surfaces or burners. The rule does not prohibit cooking facilities in a one-room studio short-term rental, meaning a single room with a sleeping area, living area and kitchen or eating area.

The City asks for the entire Short-Term Rental Application packet, with all documents, as a single PDF through the Permit and Development Portal; registration on the portal is required. The Owner's Affidavit is required for every application. Multi-unit buildings must add a layout of the building with all units and the short-term rental units labeled, and a detached accessory dwelling unit needs a floor plan with rooms labeled. The application form says the permit fee is collected after the initial application review; the City's page says permit fees are due when permits are issued.

The City's page says the fee for zoning permits can be determined by reviewing the Development Fee Guide and that permit fees are due when permits are issued. The Development Fee Guide could not be read, so the amount and its effective date are not shown here.

UDO Sec. 6.4.6 says no exterior advertising is allowed and that the zoning permit number authorizing the short-term rental must be conspicuously posted on all advertisements for short-term rentals and on the subject property.

UDO Sec. 6.4.6 says that in residential zoning districts short-term renters shall not use the premises for holding special events or gatherings. The sections we read do not define what counts as a special event or gathering.

Every short-term rental operator must keep, for three years, a list of all short-term rental lodgers staying on the premises.

UDO Sec. 6.4.6 requires operators to comply with all applicable State and local laws, including those on fire and building codes, smoke detecting and carbon monoxide detecting equipment, housing codes, and payment of taxes to appropriate governmental entities, including occupancy taxes. The UDO and the City's page do not state any tax rate. The rates and who collects the occupancy tax were not read for this page, so no combined tax figure is shown.

UDO Sec. 6.4.6 says the City shall revoke the short-term rental permit following a written determination that a resident, resident manager or operator of the facility was, within a 365-day period, convicted of violating certain criminal laws on the premises (Article 27 of Chapter 14 and Article 3 of Chapter 18B of the North Carolina General Statutes, G.S. 14-71.1 and G.S. 14-292), or received two or more Verified Violations of any combination of City Code zoning regulations, noise regulations, or nuisances prohibited by City Code section 12-6002 on the premises. A Verified Violation is a determination by a City Code enforcement official, police officer or judge, with notice and an opportunity to respond, and an order imposing a sanction or requiring compliance; an appealed violation stays verified unless overturned. Once lawfully revoked, a new permit cannot be issued or reinstated for the premises for 365 days. Violations of the use standards are also subject to civil penalties under UDO Sec. 10.4.2, which we have not read, so no penalty amount is shown.

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.