Where short-term rentals are allowed in Wilmington, NC
Wilmington is where North Carolina's short-term rental law was decided. Its ordinance created a register, a two percent cap and a 400-foot separation between rentals, and the Court of Appeals held that state law preempted the register and everything bound up with it. What remains is a zoning answer. Short-term lodging means renting residential property, or part of it, for twenty-nine days or less, and it comes in two forms: homestay lodging, permitted in all residential districts and some commercial and mixed-use ones, and whole-house lodging, allowed only in some mixed-use and commercial districts.[3]
Every rule below links to the official source it comes from, verified September 20, 2026.
Can you rent short term in Wilmington?
Your zoning decides
- Seasonal homes
- 1,452
- Housing units
- 62,836
- Residents
- 120,805
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 ACS 5-year estimates
- City ruleAllowed by zone
- City feeNone published
- Tax on each staySet locally
- Seasonal homes23 per 1,000
Wilmington NC short-term rental rules
Wilmington calls it short-term lodging, defines it as renting residential property or a portion of it for twenty-nine days or less, and splits it into two uses that are zoned very differently. Homestay lodging is permitted in all residential districts and in some commercial and mixed-use districts. Whole-house lodging is allowed only in some mixed-use and commercial districts, which is the restriction that survived the litigation. That litigation matters here more than anywhere else in the state: Wilmington's ordinance originally created a register, a two percent cap and a 400-foot separation between rentals, and the North Carolina Court of Appeals held in Schroeder v. City of Wilmington that state law preempted the register and everything bound up with it. There is no registration to file today; the zoning district is what decides.[3]
What Wilmington asks of you
Short-term lodging is the rental of residential property, or a portion of it, for a period of twenty-nine days or less, and covers both homestay and whole-house lodging.[3]
Homestay lodging is permitted in all residential districts and in some commercial and mixed-use districts.[3]
Whole-house lodging is allowed only in some mixed-use and commercial districts, which is the restriction that survived the litigation.[3]
The Court of Appeals held that part of the city's short-term lodging ordinance violated state law, striking the registration programme along with the cap and the separation requirement attached to it.[1]
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]
What a guest pays on top of your nightly rate in Wilmington
Each layer is set by a different authority, and not all of them are collected by the platform.
| Layer | Rate | Remitted to |
|---|---|---|
| North Carolina state sales tax[2] | 4.75% | The state revenue department |
| Local and transit sales tax[2] | Not published | The state revenue department |
| New Hanover County occupancy tax[2] | Not published | The county |
The occupancy tax here is a county levy, not a city one, so the rate does not change between Wilmington and the New Hanover beach towns. The state sales tax and the local rate are reported to the Department of Revenue.[2]
How short-term rental taxes work for US hostsWhat the census counts
How much of Wilmington is already a second home
The Census Bureau counts 1,452 of Wilmington's 62,836 homes as vacant for seasonal, recreational or occasional use — 23 out of every 1,000. That ranks Wilmington 11th 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
- 11th of 13
- Share of housing
- 23 per 1,000
- Median home value
- $383,800
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 ACS 5-year estimates, tables B25004, B25001, B01003 and B25077.
Nearby and comparable
Where Wilmington sits among its neighbors
Carolina Beach, NC
Registration required
2,337 seasonal homes, 373 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in Carolina BeachKure Beach, NC
No city ordinance
841 seasonal homes, 394 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in Kure BeachPinehurst, NC
Allowed by zone
723 seasonal homes, 76 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in PinehurstAsheville, NC
Allowed by zone
850 seasonal homes, 17 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in AshevilleFAQ
Wilmington short-term rental questions
Does Wilmington still require short-term rental registration?
Where is whole-house lodging allowed in Wilmington?
What counts as short-term lodging in Wilmington?
Sources
- Short-Term Rental Regulations after Schroeder, Coates' Canons, UNC School of Government, read on September 20, 2026
- Rentals of Accommodations, Sales and Use Tax, North Carolina Department of Revenue, read on September 20, 2026
- Short Term Lodging, Zoning Compliance, City of Wilmington, 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
Free tools for new hosts
Short-term rental agreement generator
Parties, dates, rent, deposit checked against your state's cap, and the house rules clauses you enforce. A signed-ready PDF for direct and Vrbo bookings.
Airbnb house rules
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Rental arbitrage calculator
Rent, deposit, furnishing, nightly rate and occupancy. You get monthly cash flow, the occupancy you break even at, and how long the setup takes to pay back.
Check-in instructions
The message a guest reads before getting in: access, keys, WiFi, parking, contact. English or bilingual output.