From Manual Chaos to Confident Compliance
How Mount Pleasant Achieved Near-Total STR Compliance
At a Glance
Jurisdiction
Mount Pleasant, South Carolina — Municipal Government, Planning & Development
Program Lead
Jane Yager-Baumrind, Short-Term Rental Coordinator / Planning & Development Specialist
Context
Coastal tourism-driven community of ~100,000 residents with a fast-growing short-term rental market. STR program launched January 2020.
Products
Rentalscape, Permit & Renewals Portal
Partnership since July 2021
Key Outcomes
95–100%
STR compliance rate, up from ~20%
2
Properties missed in 5 years of enforcement-grade monitoring
35
Official complaints in 5 years despite a highly active STR market
01 - The Challenge
Limited visibility, low compliance, and a one-person team
Mount Pleasant is a fast-growing coastal town where tourism drives both economic growth and regulatory complexity. As short-term rental (STR) activity expanded, the town implemented a formal ordinance, including permit requirements, annual renewals, and a cap on total STRs, however it lacked the systems needed to track, monitor, or enforce it effectively.
A Program Without a Foundation
When the STR program launched in January 2020, Jane Yager-Baumrind was responsible for managing it entirely alone. What began as a manageable initiative quickly spiraled as hundreds of properties came online, from local homeowners to out-of-state LLCs, with no reliable way to track who was renting, when, or how often.
The tools available provided no rental history, no operator identification, and no insight into when listings went live or disappeared. Guest reviews became the only signal of activity, an unreliable, reactive proxy at best. Enforcement was inconsistent, outreach relied on unverified addresses, and compliance was nearly impossible to track. At the time, compliance was estimated at just ~20%.
"I didn't know when it popped up. I didn't know when it went away."
— Jane Yager-Baumrind, STR Coordinator, Town of Mount Pleasant
With no visibility into listings, bookings, or operators, Mount Pleasant faced a classic enforcement trap: a program that existed on paper but couldn't be enforced in practice.
02 - The Solution
From guesswork to control
The turning point came when Mount Pleasant began evaluating solutions that could provide real visibility into their STR market. In July 2021, they adopted Rentalscape, and everything changed.
"When the team said, 'we can tell you the day they booked', it was like Christmas. I didn't care what else it did. That was what I needed to go to court."
What Rentalscape Made Possible
|
1
|
A single source of truth for the entire STR market |
With Rentalscape in place, Jane can identify unpermitted listings, confirm activity, and contact operators within minutes — turning enforcement from guesswork into a clear, repeatable process.
|
2
|
Enforcement-grade booking data |
In one case, Jane used Rentalscape's historical booking data to issue 16 violation tickets to a single out-of-state operator.
"I just had to print it out. It was all right there. I didn't have to go digging." — Jane Yager-Baumrind
|
3
|
Streamlined annual permit renewals |
Jane manages approximately 400 permits in a single month with all documentation centralized and accessible, a process that previously required manual coordination across disconnected systems.
|
4
|
A responsive, evolving partnership |
As the program evolved, Jane's feedback helped shape new features, many of which were implemented quickly. Support has remained consistently responsive.
"I try to leave the team alone. But when I email, they're on it." — Jane Yager-Baumrind
03 - Results
Near-total compliance, a program transformed
Mount Pleasant's STR program has been transformed from a fragmented, reactive process into a structured, high-confidence system. Today, Jane runs a program with consistent, measurable compliance across the entire STR ecosystem.
~98–100%
Compliance, sustained across listings, revenue, and booked nights
400+
Licensed STR properties out of ~480 active listings
1
Coordinator managing full permit lifecycle end-to-end, including renewals
One Coordinator. Hundreds of Properties. Zero Gaps.
Perhaps the most remarkable outcome isn't the compliance rate, it's the operational efficiency behind it.
Jane independently oversees hundreds of properties and the full permit lifecycle, a scope that would typically require an entire team. With complete visibility into listings, bookings, and revenue, enforcement is now proactive rather than reactive.
The program is also fully documented and structured for continuity, allowing for easy handoff and long-term institutional resilience.
"If they get rid of this, I quit. And I will not take a job at another place that doesn't have it."
04 - What's Next
Your municipality can too
Mount Pleasant went from ~20% compliance to near-total enforcement, with one coordinator and one platform. The tools exist. The results are proven.
Learn More About Rentalscape
Explore the platform built for STR compliance professionals.
Explore Rentalscape