City Watch
Short-term rental rules in Durham, NC
How Durham regulates short-term rentals: the rules that apply, their sources, and pending changes.
Short-term rentals here are subject to registration, a lodging tax, or a small number of operating rules.
- Durham County levies a 6% room occupancy tax on rentals of any room, lodging or accommodation in the county, reaching STR stays
- No STR-specific ordinance, permit, registration or minimum stay in the Durham UDO
- No STR use category in the UDO use table; whole-home rental is ordinary residential use
- No owner-occupancy requirement and no cap
Based on: City of Durham Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) — no STR-specific use class, permit, registration, or minimum-stay
Summary of the rule
Durham County Commissioners levied a Room Occupancy Tax of 6% on gross receipts derived from the rental of any room, lodging or accommodation furnished by a hotel, motel, inn or similar place within the county.
Active litigation / open question
Schroeder v. City of Wilmington (N.C. Ct. App., 2022-NCCOA-210, decided Apr. 5, 2022) — Statewide NC lens, not a Durham suit. Held G.S. 160D-1207(c) preempts municipal STR registration/enrollment requirements (and registration-tied caps, separation distances, amortization) but does NOT strip the authority to require zoning permits. Confirms NC cities cannot register or cap STRs absent express authority. No Durham STR registration/cap exists to be affected. Source ↗
Reported as fact only, reflecting the code as currently in effect — not legal advice, and not a prediction of the outcome. Verify current status before relying on it.
Last reviewed Oct 23, 2026 · Sources · Report an error
Pending legislation
Monitoring Durham · system last checked Oct 25, 2026
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City Watch provides good-faith summaries of publicly available information as of the review date shown. Rules, enforcement, and permit availability can change, and summaries may contain errors or omissions. Ratings describe the general regulatory environment; they do not establish whether a particular property or stay is permitted. This is general information, not legal advice. Before buying, listing, or hosting, verify applicable requirements with the responsible authorities and review any HOA, condominium, deed, or lease restrictions.