City Watch
Short-term rental rules in Ocean Isle Beach, NC
How Ocean Isle Beach 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.
- Incorporated Brunswick County barrier-island beach town where short-term/vacation rental is the dominant housing use; STR appears permitted townwide with no supply device.
- Only confirmed STR-touching obligation is an 'Accommodations Account' registration tied to the town's own municipal accommodations/occupancy tax — a general tax/process mechanism, not an STR-specific permit or zoning device (does not move the NC rating).
- Ch. 66 Zoning Sec. 66-45(1) lists 'Single-family for short-term or long-term occupancy' as a permitted use by right in the R-1 single-family residential district — STR is an expressly permitted residential use in the primary residential district, with no zoning exclusion and no supply device.
Based on: Town of Ocean Isle Beach Code of Ordinances — Ch. 66 (Zoning) and Ch. 34 (Housing); town levies its own municipal
Summary of the rule
The Town of Ocean Isle Beach (incorporated) itself levies a municipal accommodations tax (~5%) on gross receipts from accommodations within its corporate limits; operators must set up an Accommodations Account with the Town and remit to the Town. Governing jurisdiction (the Town) levies its own STR-touching lodging tax.
View the ordinance source ↗✓ Verified
Active litigation / open question
Schroeder v. City of Wilmington — N.C. Ct. App., 2022-NCCOA-210, decided Apr. 5, 2022 — struck a city STR registration + density cap as beyond municipal zoning/regulatory authority; establishes the NC ceiling that a city cannot register/cap STRs absent express legislative authority. No local Ocean Isle Beach STR suit found. 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 Sep 9, 2026 · Sources · Report an error
Pending legislation
Monitoring Ocean Isle Beach · system last checked Oct 25, 2026
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