The short-term rental (STR) landscape in North Carolina is a rapidly evolving and multifaceted environment. As municipalities, legislators, and stakeholders balance economic potential with community concerns, the industry stands at the crossroads of both opportunity and challenge in 2025. From statewide regulatory debates to housing affordability crises exacerbated by natural disasters, North Carolina provides a case study on how best to approach STR management with innovative tools, data, and collaboration.
To unpack these challenges and propose potential solutions, we delve into specific issues shaping North Carolina’s STR market—and how insights from technology like our Rentalscape platform are empowering government officials to create more informed policies.
The introduction of Senate Bill 291 in March 2025 represents North Carolina’s latest attempt to unify STR regulations across the state. If passed, the bill would prohibit local governments from banning STRs outright but permit regulations around permits, occupancy limits, and parking requirements. This shift could bring much-needed clarity for property owners and municipalities, but it also introduces challenges in creating enforcement strategies that balance economic growth and community welfare.
— said Stacey Kurtz, Sales Director for Deckard Technologies in the region.
Cities like Asheville have enforced some of the strictest STR regulations since 2018, prohibiting whole-home STRs in most areas while allowing homestays in owner-occupied properties. Meanwhile, Charlotte and other jurisdictions have significantly less oversight. With such regulatory fragmentation, tools like Rentalscape are proving invaluable. Rentalscape’s AI-powered matching maps properties to precise street addresses and parcel data, supporting local governments by providing a clear and comprehensive picture of STR activity.
Housing Affordability: A Pressing Crisis
The housing affordability crisis in North Carolina is one of the most hotly debated issues tied to the STR industry. In Buncombe County alone, short-term rentals accounted for more than 5,200 properties in 2022, representing 4.5% of all housing stock. Advocacy groups assert that STRs exacerbate housing shortages, contributing to tight markets like Asheville, where the rental vacancy rate pre-Hurricane Helene was a staggering 1.2%.
“It’s easy to single out STRs as the villain in the housing affordability conversation,”
“But what we often see is that there’s a lack of comprehensive data to back up policy decisions. Without the right tools to analyze how STRs interact with housing supply and affordability, the conversation risks becoming one-sided.”
— said Kurtz.
Platforms like Rentalscape can help municipalities take a data-driven approach to housing concerns. With features such as occupancy rate tracking and historical integration, local governments gain a valuable perspective on how short-term rentals influence housing availability, enabling balanced decisions that serve both community and economic interests.
Hurricane Helene and Market Resilience
Natural disasters, like Hurricane Helene, reshaped western North Carolina’s STR market in 2024, resulting in the loss of roughly 17% of Airbnb inventory. While most affected properties were lower-performing units, the hurricane amplified pre-existing housing pressures and forced regulatory priorities to shift as resources focused on recovery.
For Buncombe County, the disaster temporarily sidelined discussions around STR oversight as officials worked to stabilize their communities. However, it also spurred creative solutions, such as programs from the North Carolina Short Term Rental Alliance designed to connect displaced residents with STR owners for temporary housing.
“The recovery challenges in regions impacted by Hurricane Helene emphasize the need for technology that doesn’t just inform governments but helps them act quickly,”
— Kurtz emphasized.
“Rentalscape’s ability to provide predictive analytics and forward-looking availability data gives localities a major advantage in handling the unforeseen and planning for a resilient future.”
Tax Compliance and Revenue
One of the ongoing hurdles for North Carolina’s STR market is inconsistent tax compliance. The state levies sales taxes on all stays under 90 days, with additional local occupancy taxes varying by jurisdiction. Yet ensuring compliance becomes difficult, particularly for smaller municipalities with limited resources.
Kurtz highlighted this challenge, stating, “Tax obligations are one of the lowest-hanging fruits for local governments. The money is there, it just requires the right system to capture it. With Rentalscape, municipalities are seeing results like a 40% increase in tax revenues without putting additional strain on overworked teams.”
Rentalscape’s automation and real-time tax tracking simplify compliance, cross-referencing property data with lodging tax records to ensure that both online platforms and individual property owners meet their obligations. For cities like Wilmington, where court decisions have disrupted past registration systems, these capabilities provide an operational lifeline to regain stability.
Regional Variations: Coastal Challenges and Mountain Regulations
North Carolina’s geographic diversity creates a varied STR market. Coastal areas such as the Outer Banks rely heavily on STR revenue to fund tourism infrastructure and beach maintenance, while mountain regions face tighter regulations aimed at preserving communities and safeguarding housing availability. Hurricane Helene introduced additional pressures in the western part of the state, placing new demands on both the regulatory framework and local economies.
In contrast, coastal municipalities face different obstacles, including environmental concerns such as septic capacity and the impact of seasonal demand fluctuations on infrastructure. By providing geospatial clustering data and custom market forecasting, Rentalscape helps address these unique regional challenges.
Bridging Advocacy and Opposition
The STR debate in North Carolina reflects broader tensions nationwide between industry advocates and community groups. The North Carolina Short Term Rental Alliance has emerged as a leading voice promoting the economic benefits of STRs, often clashing with housing advocates who raise concerns about community disruption, noise, and parking.
To navigate this, accurate data becomes a cornerstone for constructive dialogue. Rentalscape offers actionable insights that help stakeholders understand how STRs impact their communities. For instance, its deep-dive visualizations can illustrate both hotspots of illegal activities and areas of economic strength.
“In today’s environment, transparency builds trust, by equipping all sides of the conversation with real-time, credible data, Rentalscape is helping communities strike that difficult balance between welcoming visitors and maintaining community standards.”
— added Kurtz.
Conclusion: A Blueprint for North Carolina's Future
The future of STRs in North Carolina lies in striking the delicate balance between driving economic growth, protecting housing affordability, managing disasters, and fostering community well-being. Technology, as demonstrated by platforms like Rentalscape, plays an instrumental role in this effort.
“Ultimately, this isn’t just about short-term rentals,”
— concluded Stacey Kurtz.
“It’s about creating smarter, more equitable communities where technology supports better decision-making for everyone—residents, tourists, and property owners alike.”
As local governments and industry players press forward in addressing these challenges, it’s clear that data-driven governance will remain at the heart of the solution. North Carolina has the opportunity to lead the way in smart property management by utilizing innovative tools to tackle the complex challenges of an evolving STR market.