Greenville County Council's short-term rental ad hoc committee reviewed a working draft ordinance this week that would finally require the county's estimated 1,200 short-term rentals in unincorporated areas to register with the county, but members voted to hold the measure in committee rather than send it forward. The draft would mandate proof of business registration, accommodations tax registration, and details on property owners and operators for short-term rentals.
According to the Greenville Journal, the committee discussed how the draft ordinance would affect those roughly 1,200 unincorporated rentals, weighing registration requirements against the practical challenge of enforcing them. The county currently has no process for tracking short-term rentals at all, creating a lack of data and difficulties collecting accommodations taxes. VisitGreenvilleSC estimates the county is missing around $900,000 annually in local accommodations tax revenue as a result.
Under the working draft, each short-term rental would need to register with the county zoning administrator, who would oversee the process. Registrations would require proof that the property is registered under Greenville County's existing business registration ordinance, along with owner information, operator details when someone other than the owner runs the rental, property information, rental type, and proof of accommodations tax registration with both the state Department of Revenue and the county.
Staffing and Legal Language Still Unresolved
The committee identified the county zoning administrator's staffing capacity as a potential obstacle to enforcing any new registration system, according to the same report. Compounding that concern, the county's legal team described the existing business registration ordinance as containing conflicting and confusing language, raising the question of whether council should pursue parallel updates to that ordinance alongside the new short-term rental rules. The committee said it will consider outstanding questions about the draft's language before moving forward.
The ad hoc committee has worked with county staff to research how other counties across the state handle similar regulations, and it has gathered input directly from short-term rental owners and hosting services as it builds out the framework. The panel's stated goal remains producing a full regulatory and enforcement structure for short-term rentals countywide, though this week's session ended without a vote to advance the ordinance beyond committee review.
A Countywide Push Rooted in Paris Mountain Complaints
The effort traces back to neighborhood anger on Paris Mountain, where residents reported noise, blocked parking, and unmonitored parties tied to short-term rentals following a defeated 2025 hotel proposal, as reported by the Post and Courier. That outcry led council to form its five-member ad hoc committee in February, chaired by Council Member Liz Seman with representatives from rural, suburban and urban districts. Data VisitGreenvilleSC presented to county officials in March put the countywide total near 2,000 active short-term rentals, alongside roughly 1,200 unincorporated rentals targeted by the draft ordinance.
The financial stakes have grown alongside the complaints. Short-term rental revenue across the county climbed by $25 million over the four years leading into 2026, now accounting for roughly 10% of total annual accommodations revenue, per the Upstate Business Journal. The available reporting does not establish specific figures for Greenville-area host income, occupancy, daily rates or top-performing listings.
Zoning Gaps Complicate Enforcement Countywide
Much of the difficulty facing county leaders stems from a structural quirk: roughly two-thirds of Greenville County remains completely un-zoned, the Post and Courier reported, leaving county leaders to confront enforcement challenges absent standardized county rules. That stands in contrast to the City of Greenville, which in July 2023 restricted short-term rentals under 30 days to commercial and mixed-use zoning districts.
Only about half a dozen of South Carolina's 46 counties — including York, Lexington and Charleston — have enacted countywide short-term rental ordinances as of 2026, according to the Post and Courier, underscoring how far behind most of the state remains on the issue. Meanwhile, the available reporting does not identify a specific state bill or statewide insurance requirement.
On Paris Mountain specifically, the conflict has focused on non-resident host rentals in the ecologically sensitive area. With the broader countywide ordinance still parked in committee, the available reporting does not specify when Greenville County Council might bring a final version up for a vote.
