North Myrtle Beach

Operating rules

Primary residence

No

Min stay (nights)

—

Max nights / year

—

Max occupancy

—

Zoning-restricted

No

Cap on licenses

No

Zoning: No STR-specific zoning overlay or conditional-use process. The City states plainly: 'There is currently no special zoning or permit process required beyond standard licensing.' However, Chapter 23 (Zoning) § 23-2 DOES define the term: 'Short term rental: Any residential unit offered for lease for a period of ninety (90) days or less', and defines 'Sleeping area' expressly 'As it relates to short term rentals' as any room (including bedrooms) other than a kitchen, a hallway not exceeding seven feet in width, a mechanical room, a bathroom, a closet not exceeding seventy square feet, or an elevator/stairwell. That sleeping-area definition is load-bearing for off-street parking under § 23-43(4), which requires 'Additional sleeping areas: One-half (½) space per sleeping area' on top of the base (1 space per 1-BR unit, 1½ per 2-BR, 2 per 3-BR, ½ per additional bedroom). So the practical constraint on large 'sleeping-area-heavy' STRs is parking supply, not a use prohibition.

• NO dedicated STR ordinance exists as of 2026-07-16. Regulation is via the general business license chapter plus tax ordinances.
• No primary-residence requirement, no cap on the number of licenses, no annual night cap, and no minimum-stay requirement are imposed by the City. Verified by absence of any STR chapter in the Code of Ordinances (codified through Ord. No. 26-01, adopted January 5, 2026) and by the City's own statement that no special permit process exists beyond standard licensing.
• Effective occupancy/vehicle constraint: 'The number of parking spaces reported also represents the maximum number of vehicles permitted to park on-site.' This caps vehicles, not persons. No numeric per-person occupancy cap was found in a quotable primary source; the City's STR page only says STRs must comply with 'applicable ordinances related to ... occupancy'.
• The 90-day threshold is the operative dividing line at every layer: zoning § 23-2 defines an STR as a lease of 90 days or less; city § 7-126 excludes accommodations supplied to the same person for 90 continuous days; Horry County excludes 'Long-term accommodation rentals 90 consecutive days at the same location to the same patron'; SCDOR exempts 'the lease or rental of accommodations supplied to the same person for a period of 90 continuous days'.
• PENDING — Responsible Local Agent (RLA) ordinance: workshopped since Nov 2024, NOT adopted. If adopted it would add an annual permit, a 24/7 responsible local agent able to reach the property within one hour, a 30-mile self-agent radius, a public registry and a guest-facing brochure. Two earlier attempts failed: a July 30, 2018 special-called meeting on a 4-month moratorium for residential units with 8+ sleeping areas ('Ordinance Failed') and an August 19, 2020 workshop ('Ordinance not adopted'). Treat any vendor/blog claim that the RLA rules took effect in August 2025 as UNSUPPORTED — the City's own page still lists this as an ongoing conversation.
• A 2018 moratorium proposal targeted 'residential units with 8+ sleeping areas' — the sleeping-area concept is the City's historical lever for large-STR concerns and is the most likely basis for any future cap.

Enforcement

Active enforcement

yes

Fines

Business license violations (including operating an STR without a license) are punishable by a fine of up to $500.00 or imprisonment for not more than 30 days, or both, upon conviction, with each day of violation a separate offense (§ 7-19). Delinquent business license taxes are separately subject to penalties under § 7-12. Accommodations/hospitality fee violations are a separate offense punishable under § 1-6, each day a separate offense (§ 7-130(d)); late remittance carries a 5% penalty per month or portion thereof until paid (§ 7-130(c)). Horry County penalties for late filing/failure to file/failure to pay accrue daily at 0.333% (10% monthly), capped at 20% of fees due (25% on audited assessments). Guest-facing citywide fines relevant to STR guests include fireworks: $310 first offense, up to $500 for a second offense.

Notes

The City states it actively monitors rental activity for licensing compliance. Enforcement is complaint-driven for nuisance issues, routed through Police Dispatch at 843-280-5511 for noise, fireworks, trash and parking complaints. Because there is no STR permit to revoke, the City's leverage is the business license (denial under § 7-14, suspension/revocation under § 7-15) plus per-day fines. Note the enforcement gap that is driving the pending RLA proposal: reporting indicates roughly 5,400 registered STRs in the city with about 1,700 lacking a designated local responsible party — that figure comes from news reporting, not a primary source, and is NOT quote-verified here.