City Watch
Short-term rental rules in Surf City, NC
How Surf City 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.
- STR ('short-term rental', vacation rental <90 days) is a permitted use (P) townwide in ALL residential districts (R-5, R-10, R-15, RA, SF, MFC, R-5M, etc.) with no cross-referenced STR-specific use standards.
- No STR registration/permit program and no STR-specific minimum-stay found in the zoning ordinance or town portals; only general building/zoning permitting and a general business registration portal apply.
- NC Schroeder lens: nothing to net out here — Surf City never adopted a registration or density cap. STR is treated as a permitted residential use, which is exactly the residential-use baseline Schroeder protects.
- General occupancy/room tax (Pender/Onslow county 6% occupancy tax) is process-only and does not move the rating.
- Zoning Appendix A §5.4 Permitted Land Use Table lists a 'Short-Term Rentals' use row marked P (Permitted) across all residential districts (RA, R-15, R-10, R-5, SF, MHS, MFC, R-5M) plus O&I and NB, with NO supplemental use-standard cross-reference — i.e., STR is an as-of-right permitted residential use townwide with no STR-specific standard layered on.
Based on: Surf City Code of Ordinances, Appendix A (Zoning) — Sec. 5.4 Table of Permitted Uses lists 'Short-Term Rental' as
Summary of the rule
The Town of Surf City (incorporated) itself levies a 3% municipal occupancy tax on rentals, paid to the Town each month (a separate Pender County 3% component also applies to units in Pender County). 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. Court of Appeals (2021)) — City STR registration + density cap (2% / separation) struck as beyond municipal zoning/regulatory authority; STR treated as residential use. Statewide lens — no Surf City-specific 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 Surf City · system last checked Oct 25, 2026
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