South Carolina · Bluffton

Bluffton

Short-term rentals are legal in Bluffton, SC but require a Town-issued Short-term Rental Unit Permit before any advertising, leasing or operation. The governing law is Chapter 6, Article V (Secs. 6-110—6-122) of the Town of Bluffton Code of Ordinances, enacted by Ord. No. 2020-25 § 1(Att. A) (11-10-2020) and amended by Ord. No. 2024-31 § 1(Exh. A) (12-10-2024, which carries history at Secs. 6-114, 6-120 and 6-122 — the application/fee, penalty and renewal sections). A Municode editor's note records that Ord. No. 2020-25 "set out provisions intended for use as Art. V, §§ 6-100—6-112" which were renumbered at the editor's discretion to §§ 6-110—6-122. Code is current through Ord. No. 2025-19, enacted October 14, 2025 (Supp. No. 13). A "short-term rental unit" is "[a] dwelling unit, principal or accessory, that is rented in its entirety to transient guests for less than 30 consecutive days" (Sec. 6-111). Permit fee is $325 initial registration and $325 annual renewal (FY2026 Master Fee Schedule, effective July 1, 2025; permit modifications $0 per the application form), and the permit renews annually to coincide with the business license year (May 1–April 30, Sec. 6-21). A Town of Bluffton business license is separately required for the owner, and also for any rental agent who is not the owner. Under UDO Table 4.3 short-term rental is a Conditional (C) use — under the UDO Sec. 4.3 legend, "Conditional (C): Permitted subject to specific conditions and specific use standards listed in Section 4.4," as distinct from "Special Exception (SE): Permitted by special exception through a discretionary review process" — in AG, RMU, RG, NC, GM, RV-HD, NCV-HD, NG-HD, NCE-HD, NC-HD and the PUD for Bluffton Village; it is Not Permitted (-) in Preserve (PR) and Light Industrial (LI). UDO Sec. 4.4.3.A.1 limits NEW short-term rental units to one (1) per lot as of January 1, 2021 in AG, RMU, RG, NC, GM, RV-HD, NCV-HD, NG-HD and NCE-HD, with that limitation expressly not applying to lots in the Neighborhood Core-Historic District (NC-HD). UDO Sec. 4.4.3.A.2 also bars any visible exterior evidence of the use, including signage or other commercial features. There is no primary-residence requirement, no annual night cap, no town-wide numeric license cap and no minimum-stay mandate anywhere in Article V or UDO Sec. 4.4.3. Key operating rules: a designated agent available 24/7 who can travel to the property within one hour (Sec. 6-115(b)(2)-(3)); adjacent-property-owner notification by affidavit before initial permit issuance (Sec. 6-116(b)); the permit number must appear in every print and digital advertisement (Sec. 6-118); permit and transient guest information posted conspicuously inside the unit, including quiet hours 10:00 p.m.–7:00 a.m. (Sec. 6-117). Off-street parking at one space per bedroom is required by the Town's Short-term Rental Unit Permit Application Information and Guidelines (as of March 24, 2021) — note this rule appears in that guidance document, NOT in Article V or UDO Sec. 4.4.3. Permits are nontransferable and a sale or transfer of ownership immediately nullifies the permit. Taxes on the guest total 10%: a 7% state-administered sales tax on accommodations under S.C. Code § 12-36-920(A) ("A sales tax equal to seven percent is imposed on the gross proceeds derived from the rental or charges for any rooms, campground spaces, lodgings, or sleeping accommodations furnished to transients"), confirmed on SCDOR Form ST-575 (Rev. 2/5/26) which lists Bluffton/Beaufort at a 7% accommodations rate, 6% sales tax and "No Local Tax Imposed"; plus a 3% Town of Bluffton local accommodations tax under Code Sec. 24-22 (Article II of Chapter 24 was amended in its entirety by Ord. No. 2024-07 § 1(Exh. A), adopted June 11, 2024), which the Town's Accommodations Tax page states is "collected by the Business License Department." Note that ST-575's "No Local Tax Imposed" refers only to DOR-administered local taxes — the form states "Local taxes directly collected by the counties or municipalities are not included" — so it does not contradict the Town's directly-collected 3%. Beaufort County's own local 3% accommodations tax (County Code Ch. 66, Art. II, Div. 2, Secs. 66-41—66-49, effective July 1, 2024) reaches only transients "within the unincorporated areas of Beaufort County" (Sec. 66-42(a)) and therefore does not stack inside Bluffton town limits, consistent with the S.C. Code § 6-1-540 cap ("The cumulative rate of county and municipal local accommodations taxes for any portion of the county area may not exceed three percent"). Enforcement is real: operating or advertising without a permit, or receiving two or more notices of violation in any one-year permit period, is a violation punishable as a misdemeanor under Code Sec. 1-7 (fine not exceeding $500.00 or imprisonment not exceeding 30 days, with each day a separate offense), plus a 5% per-month penalty on unpaid permit fees (Sec. 6-120(d)), a 5% per-month penalty on delinquent business license tax (Sec. 6-30(a)), and a 5% per-month penalty on late local accommodations tax (Sec. 24-28(c)).

Not legal advice. Last verified 2026-07-15 · sources linked below.