Transylvania County, NC

Where short-term rentals are allowed in Brevard, NC

Brevard spent years on this question — it ran a dedicated short-term rental task force — and landed on a trade. Ordinance 2023-37, adopted on 21 August 2023, removed short-term rentals from the General Residential zones and opened them in the Corridor Mixed Use and Institutional Campus districts instead. Rentals already operating were grandfathered. Anyone starting now needs a zoning permit from Planning and Zoning, and that permit lasts a year, confers no right to renewal, and expires with the calendar rather than with the property.[3]

Every rule below links to the official source it comes from, verified September 20, 2026.

Can you rent short term in Brevard?

Your zoning decides

What you apply for: Short-term rental or homestay zoning permit

Seasonal homes
397
Housing units
4,329
Residents
7,897

U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 ACS 5-year estimates

  • City ruleAllowed by zone
  • City feeNone published
  • Tax on each staySet locally
  • Seasonal homes92 per 1,000

Brevard NC short-term rental permit

Brevard requires the owner or authorised agent of any property proposing to operate a homestay or a short-term rental to secure a permit from the city's Planning and Zoning Department, and treats it as a typical zoning permit taken out before a new short-term rental opens. The permit is temporary: it establishes no vested right to renewal and is valid for one year from the date of issue. The current rules come from Ordinance 2023-37, adopted on 21 August 2023, which amended the Unified Development Ordinance at section 3.6.A.3. That amendment removed short-term rentals from the General Residential zoning districts and allowed them in Corridor Mixed Use and Institutional Campus districts, grandfathered the rentals already operating, and added an exemption to the definition of a short-term rental where a permanent resident lives on site, which is how a homestay is distinguished from a whole-house let.[3]

What Brevard asks of you

  • The owner or authorised agent of any property on which a homestay or short-term rental proposes to operate must secure a permit from the Planning and Zoning Department.[3]

  • Short-term rental and homestay permits are temporary, establish no vested right to renewal, and are valid for one year from the date of issue.[3]

  • Ordinance 2023-37, adopted on 21 August 2023, amended the Unified Development Ordinance at section 3.6.A.3 to set the current rules.[3]

  • That amendment eliminated short-term rentals from the General Residential zoning districts and allowed them in the Corridor Mixed Use and Institutional Campus districts.[3]

  • Short-term rentals already operating were grandfathered in under the new rules.[3]

  • The amendment added an exemption to the definition of a short-term rental where a permanent resident lives on site, which is what separates a homestay from a whole-house let.[3]

Apply on the Brevard site

What North Carolina asks wherever you host

These rules apply at this address whatever the city decides.

  • A North Carolina city may not require you to register a rental property, nor to obtain a permit under its housing or minimum housing codes in order to rent it: G.S. 160D-1207(c) preempts both, and the Court of Appeals enforced that in Schroeder v. City of Wilmington.[1]

  • What survives is zoning. The court upheld restricting whole-house lodging to named districts, parking requirements, limits on large events, insurance conditions and posted safety information.[1]

  • Renting a private residence or cottage carries the 4.75% state sales tax plus applicable local and transit rates, and any local occupancy tax a city or county has imposed. A stay of ninety continuous days or more to the same person is outside the tax.[2]

All North Carolina short-term rental laws

What a guest pays on top of your nightly rate in Brevard

Each layer is set by a different authority, and not all of them are collected by the platform.

Short-term rental tax layers in Brevard
LayerRateRemitted to
North Carolina state sales tax[2]4.75%The state revenue department
Local and transit sales tax[2]Not publishedThe state revenue department
Transylvania County occupancy tax[2]Not publishedThe county

Transylvania County's occupancy tax is not published by the Department of Revenue in a single table, so confirm the rate with the county. The 4.75% state rate and local sales tax apply regardless.[2]

How short-term rental taxes work for US hosts

What the census counts

How much of Brevard is already a second home

The Census Bureau counts 397 of Brevard's 4,329 homes as vacant for seasonal, recreational or occasional use — 92 out of every 1,000. That ranks Brevard 9th of the 13 North Carolina cities on this site for the share of its housing stock kept for part-year use.

Rank in the state
9th of 13
Share of housing
92 per 1,000
Median home value
$450,000

U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 ACS 5-year estimates, tables B25004, B25001, B01003 and B25077.

Nearby and comparable

Where Brevard sits among its neighbors

Southport, NC

Allowed by zone

346 seasonal homes, 140 per 1,000 housing units.

Rules in Southport

Pinehurst, NC

Allowed by zone

723 seasonal homes, 76 per 1,000 housing units.

Rules in Pinehurst

Wilmington, NC

Allowed by zone

1,452 seasonal homes, 23 per 1,000 housing units.

Rules in Wilmington

Asheville, NC

Allowed by zone

850 seasonal homes, 17 per 1,000 housing units.

Rules in Asheville
The state hubEvery North Carolina city on this site, in one tableState law, the tax stack and every city we cover in North Carolina, with what each one asks of a host.Open the North Carolina hub

FAQ

Brevard short-term rental questions

Can I run a short-term rental in a Brevard residential zone?

Not a new one. Ordinance 2023-37 removed short-term rentals from the General Residential districts, keeping only those already operating, and opened Corridor Mixed Use and Institutional Campus instead.[3]

How long does a Brevard permit last?

One year from the date it is issued. The city is explicit that the permit is temporary and creates no vested right to a renewal.[3]

What is a homestay in Brevard?

A let where a permanent resident lives on site. The 2023 amendment wrote that in as an exemption to the short-term rental definition, so the two are permitted differently.[3]
Read nextHow to start an AirbnbThe six steps in order, starting with the permit check.Read the guide

Sources

  1. Short-Term Rental Regulations after Schroeder, Coates' Canons, UNC School of Government, read on September 20, 2026
  2. Rentals of Accommodations, Sales and Use Tax, North Carolina Department of Revenue, read on September 20, 2026
  3. Short-Term Rental Task Force and UDO amendments, City of Brevard, read on September 20, 2026

This page is not legal advice. It summarizes the official sources listed on this page as they read on September 20, 2026. Rules can change after that date, so check with the issuing office before you apply or publish a listing.

Before you list

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