Charleston draws visitors year round for its historic peninsula, food scene and weddings, but the City of Charleston runs one of the stricter short-term rental programs in the Southeast. Most hosts inside city limits are renting part of, or all of, the home they actually live in, which shapes the kind of cleaning and co-hosting help that makes sense here.
As of 2026, the city requires both an annual short-term rental permit and a business license, and the business license number must be posted inside the unit and on every advertisement. The property must be the owner's primary residence, which the city verifies using the county's 4% legal residence property tax assessment. Permits fall into three categories: Category I covers the Old and Historic District, where a property must be individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places; Category II covers the rest of the peninsula, where the building must be at least 50 years old; Category III covers areas such as West Ashley, James Island, Johns Island, Daniel Island and Cainhoy. No more than four adults may stay overnight. Both the permit and the business license must be renewed every year.
Taxes are layered. For a city property in Charleston County, the city lists a combined 14% rate: 5% state sales tax, 2% state accommodations tax, 1% local option sales tax, 1% county transportation tax, 1% education tax, 2% Charleston County accommodations tax and 2% City of Charleston accommodations tax. City properties in Berkeley County total 12%. The city warns that online marketplaces do not always collect the local accommodations taxes, so check your payout reports and file anything that is missing with Charleston County. Unincorporated areas and nearby towns like Mount Pleasant and Folly Beach have their own rules, so verify with the correct jurisdiction.
We could not find a published, Charleston-specific price survey for turnover cleaning, so get at least two written quotes. Because many permitted listings are a room, suite or carriage house inside an owner-occupied home, jobs here tend to be smaller and more frequent than whole-house beach turnovers, and some cleaners price them hourly. Factors that raise quotes include tight parking and permit zones on the peninsula, older homes with original floors and plaster that need gentler products, and the humidity that makes mildew checks in bathrooms and closets part of a good clean.
Spring is Charleston's busiest stretch, roughly March through May, with heavy wedding and festival weekends, and fall is close behind. Summer stays steady but hot, and hurricane season runs June through November. January and February are the quietest months and the best time to trial a new cleaner or co-host before the spring rush.
Generally no. As of 2026, city short-term rental permits require the property to be the owner's primary residence. Commercial permits exist only in limited areas such as the Cannonborough-Elliotborough overlay. Confirm with the city's zoning office.
The city allows up to four adults to stay overnight in a permitted short-term rental, regardless of their relationship.
Not necessarily. The city notes that marketplaces may not collect the county and city accommodations taxes, so review what Airbnb is remitting and file the rest yourself.
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