Short-Term Rentals on the Grand Strand:
Which Rules Can a New Statehouse Change?

The short answer

In South Carolina, each city and county decides where short-term rentals may operate. No state law says a city may not ban them. The new Statehouse could change that only by passing a bill like H. 3861, which died in a House committee, and no winner of the 2026 election has said they would.

Nothing changed for a Myrtle Beach rental on election day. Stays of under 90 days are still barred in the city's zones that begin with R, except RMV. The state's part is the tax: 7% of the rent, plus up to 3% in local tax.

We check a rental's zone and license before you make an offer.

Who decides the short-term rental rules on the Grand Strand today?

Cities and counties decide where a short-term rental may go, through zoning. Under state law, a county or city with a comprehensive plan can adopt a zoning ordinance. It governs "the use of buildings, structures, and land." The legislature decides the taxes.

We checked the state code's chapters on local government, zoning and property and sales tax for a limit on local bans under another name, and found none. The one rule on rental websites asks them to post a notice about local licensing.

Election day changed none of these local rules. Horry County, Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach and Surfside Beach had no question on the Nov. 3 ballot.

What are Myrtle Beach's short-term rental rules?

Myrtle Beach keeps short-term rentals out of most of its residential neighborhoods. In the city, a short-term rental is a stay of under 90 days.

• Residential zones. No zone that begins with R allows them, except RMV (Residential Multifamily Visitor). Most traditional neighborhoods are in R zones.
• Grandfathered houses. Fewer than 30 houses in those zones, citywide, can keep renting short-term under the old rules.
• License and fines. Every rental needs a city business license. A violation can bring a fine of up to $500, 30 days in jail, or both, on conviction.

Photo: Loadmaster

The city added one more rule in December 2024. City council voted unanimously for a conversion overlay on commercial districts east of Kings Highway, on the ocean side. Under it, short-term rentals there may not convert to long-term rentals. It took effect at once, and a temporary moratorium was set to expire.

Two kinds of units are exempt from the overlay. One is a unit that already has a long-term rental license. The other is a former primary residence or second home that was never rented.

What are the rules in North Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach and the rest of Horry County?

North Myrtle Beach allows short-term rentals with a city business license, renewed every year. The city requires no special zoning or permit beyond the license. Each rental collects accommodations tax for the city, the county and the state.

Surfside Beach and Horry County, outside the cities, each decide their own rules too. Our agents check the zone of any Surfside Beach or county address with the town or county before you make an offer. Our short-term rental rules guide lists the rules town by town on the Grand Strand.

How much tax does a Grand Strand short-term rental collect, and who decides it?

The state charges 7% of the rent on rooms and homes rented to short-stay guests. A city or county can add a local accommodations tax of up to 3%. A county may not charge more than 1.5% inside a city unless the city agrees.

Three kinds of rentals owe no state accommodations tax:

• Renting fewer than six rooms in the home you live in.
• A home rented out for 14 days or fewer in a year, the 14-day rule in federal tax law.
• A stay of 90 days or more in a row by the same guest.

Both rates are in state law, so the legislature can change them with an ordinary bill. Our accommodations tax guide gives the full rate for each Grand Strand city and county.

What would H. 3861 have done to Myrtle Beach's rules?

H. 3861 said no city or county may make or enforce a rule that bans renting a home to short-term guests. Myrtle Beach could no longer have kept stays of fewer than 29 days out of its R zones.

• What counts as short-term. The bill applies to stays of fewer than 29 days in a row. Myrtle Beach's rule applies to stays under 90 days. A stay of 29 to 89 days would still have been the city's to rule on.
• The penalty. A city or county that kept a ban could not collect tax at the 6% ratio on "qualifying property," in the bill's words. The State Treasurer would also hold back its state aid until it repealed the ban.
• Who filed it. Reps. Hewitt, Bailey, Brewer, Murphy and Bannister. Rep. William Bailey represents Horry County's District 104.
• What happened to it. It was introduced in January 2025 and sent to the House Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs Committee. We checked the bill's record: the committee never voted on it.

A rental is taxed on 6% of its value, and a home you live in on 4%. Our page on the proposed rental property tax cut shows what it costs on a Myrtle Beach rental.

Could the new South Carolina House pass a bill like H. 3861?

Yes. If all 124 members vote, it would take 63 House votes, the same as in the old House. A bill like H. 3861 is an ordinary bill. It does not need two-thirds. Each house must read it three times, on three separate days, and pass it. In the House, a tie fails.

• The House. In the unofficial count, Republicans led in 79 races and Democrats in 45. Before the election it had 89 Republicans and 35 Democrats.
• The Senate. It was not on the ballot except for one special race. It still has 34 Republicans and 12 Democrats.
• The recounts. Two House races were within 1 point and qualify for an automatic recount. If one recount changed the result, Republicans would hold 78 or 80 seats. If both did, they would hold 79. Each is more than 63 and fewer than 83.

What changed: the votes to override a veto

After a governor's veto, two-thirds of each house must vote again to pass the bill. If all members vote, that is 83 in the House and 31 in the Senate.

Republicans held 89 House seats before, enough to override alone. With 79, a House override would need some Democratic votes.

What did the candidates say about short-term rentals?

Nothing we found. Alan Wilson won the governor's race after Jermaine Johnson conceded. We checked Wilson's priorities page and found no short-term rental item, and we found no statement from Johnson. Annie Andrews, the AP's winner of the U.S. Senate race, has none on her issue pages, and state zoning is not a federal vote.

Of the 11 House districts on Horry County's ballot, Republicans led in 8 and Democrats in 3. Rep. Bailey, a sponsor of H. 3861, won District 104 with 66.88% in the unofficial count. Our 2026 election guide has every result that matters for a home here.

What happened when Arizona's and Florida's legislatures took this power from cities?

Both legislatures took away the power to ban. Arizona later changed its law. Florida's legislature passed a change in 2024, and the governor vetoed it. In order:

1. 2016Arizona bars local bansSB 1350: "A city or town may not prohibit vacation rentals or short-term rentals."
2. 2022Arizona gives cities some rules backSB 1168 kept the ban on bans. Cities can now require a permit, with a fee of no more than $250 or the cost, whichever is less. They can also require an emergency contact, notice to neighbors, and liability coverage of $500,000, which the booking platform's coverage can meet. They can suspend a permit for repeat violations.
3. 2024Florida's governor vetoes a vacation rental billThe bill, CS/SB 280, would have made platforms collect and pay the taxes and moved licensing to the state.
4. 2025South Carolina's H. 3861 is introducedIt never left committee.
5. NowFlorida keeps its older local rulesFlorida law today says local governments may not ban vacation rentals or limit how long or how often they are rented. Local rules adopted on or before June 1, 2011 still stand.

In Arizona, cities lost the power to ban in 2016. Six years later the legislature let them require permits, contacts and insurance. In Florida, local rules from before the cutoff still stand. We found no study that measured what either change did to home prices or rents.

Do short-term rental limits change home prices and rents?

In the one peer-reviewed study we found, by a small amount. In Los Angeles County, 18 of 88 cities adopted home-sharing rules. The study, in the Journal of Urban Economics in 2021, measured what followed in those cities:

Myrtle Beach is a different market, and a state law like H. 3861 would work in the other direction, opening zones instead of closing them. The study shows how large the effect was there. It is not a forecast for the Grand Strand.

What could happen to Grand Strand short-term rentals in the next two years, and after five?

Three paths, each from a past example. None is a forecast of what the new legislature will pass.

Any new law needs the same steps first. A bill is filed and usually passes a committee. It wins 63 House votes if all 124 members vote, then a Senate majority. Then the governor signs it or lets it become law without a signature.

If all members vote, a veto would then need 83 House votes and 31 Senate votes to override.

What does Chapter3 do for a short-term rental buyer while the rules stay local?

We check the rules for the one address before you make an offer. In Myrtle Beach that means the zone and whether the house is one of the fewer than 30 grandfathered houses. For a condo, it also means whether the building is in the overlay. In North Myrtle Beach and Surfside Beach it means the license and the zone.

We price a rental on the rules in force on the day you buy.

Common questions

Short-term rental rule questions

Can Myrtle Beach ban short-term rentals?

Yes. No South Carolina law stops a city from barring them through zoning. Myrtle Beach bars stays of under 90 days in every zone that begins with R, except RMV. Fewer than 30 houses citywide are grandfathered.

Did the 2026 election change short-term rental rules on the Grand Strand?

No. Horry County, Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach and Surfside Beach had no local ballot question. No state law on the subject passed. The rules change only by a council vote or a new state law.

What was H. 3861?

A 2025 South Carolina House bill that would have barred cities and counties from banning short-term rentals of fewer than 29 days. A government that kept a ban would have lost its state aid. It never got a committee vote.

How much tax does a short-term rental pay in South Carolina?

The state charges 7% of the rent. A city or county may add up to 3%. Rentals of 90 days or more to the same guest owe no accommodations tax.

What did Alan Wilson say about short-term rentals?

Nothing we found. His priorities page has no short-term rental item. As governor he could sign or veto a bill on the subject.

Sources: H. 3861, Myrtle Beach rules, North Myrtle Beach rules, WMBF on the overlay, S.C. Code 6-29-720, 12-36-920, 6-1-520, SC Constitution Art. III, Art. IV, House Rules, SC election results, Arizona SB 1350, A.R.S. 9-500.39, Fla. Stat. 509.032, Florida veto, Koster et al. 2021. Election results are the unofficial count until certified. Not legal or tax advice.

Buying a short-term rental on the Grand Strand?

We check the zone, the license and the grandfathered status of the rental you want. We also find rentals where short stays are allowed.