Is short-term rental legal in Hilton Head Island, SC?
Hilton Head adopted its STR permit ordinance in 2023: every short-term rental needs a town permit, with occupancy tied to bedrooms, parking and septic facts — a resort town professionalizing a market it has no intention of banning.
Rules checked October 2026
Run the Hilton Head Island verdict on your facts
| What counts as a short-term rental | Hilton Head adopted its STR permit ordinance in 2023: every short-term rental needs a town permit, with occupancy tied to bedrooms, parking and septic facts — a resort town professionalizing a market it has no intention of banning. |
|---|---|
| Permit / license | STR Permit (Town) — issued by Town of Hilton Head Island |
| Fee | Permit about $250 per year (town schedule) |
| Renewal | Annual renewal |
| Primary-residence rule | None — the island regulates the rental, not the resident. |
| Whole-home rental | Whole-home rental is the standard permitted product. |
| Night cap | — |
| Guests / occupancy | Occupancy = 2 per bedroom + 2 pattern, per the permit |
| Minimum stay | None |
| Zoning | Town permit citywide (island-wide); the plantation regimes inside the gates are the private layer that decides many real cases. |
| Density / scarcity | No density cap found in the current rules |
| Fines | Unpermitted operation draws town fines and permit consequences; plantation (HOA) rules layer privately and are enforced by the plantations themselves |
| Taxes | State + local accommodations taxes accompany the permit. |
| Platform duties | Permit numbers in ads. |
| State layer | No state preemption. Charleston, Hilton Head, Columbia and the Grand Strand each license differently; state bills to preempt have been debated but not passed. |
What trips hosts in Hilton Head Island
- Hilton Head's two-layer reality: the town permits, the plantations decide — the private layer is the senior partner on this island.
The private layer still applies
These are the city's rules. Your HOA, condo board, lease or mortgage can say no on top of them — that layer is printed as a warning in the checker, never merged into the city's verdict.
Sources: Hilton Head Island Mun. Code (STR Ordinance, 2023) · Town STR program. Rules checked October 2026.