Professional short-term rental managers across South Carolina deserve clear, accurate
information about the policy discussions now underway in the City of North Myrtle Beach.
As industry stakeholders, we believe transparency is essential—particularly when local
governments consider regulatory measures affecting our businesses, our owners, and the
communities we serve.
“A single unresponsive property can harm the reputation of the entire short term rental industry and often becomes the catalyst for overly punitive regulation.”
North Myrtle Beach is currently evaluating a proposed Local Contact Ordinance focused on
improving responsiveness during guest-related disturbances and ensuring that every short-
term rental has a qualified, reachable contact who can assist the City when issues arise. We
support this ordinance because it promotes professionalism, accountability, and community
trust—improving quality of life for residents without imposing unnecessary or cost-
prohibitive burdens on property owners.
Previous proposals presented by city staff of comprehensive short-term rental ordinances
were overly burdensome and heavy-handed including provisions that among other things
would have applied commercial requirements like fire sprinklers to residential properties
and would have imposed steep registration fees per STR to support a dedicated department
for regulating short term rentals in the city. These efforts ignored the more common-sense
approach to enforce existing laws and to shore up accountability across STR’s.
This document provides a factual overview of the proposal and explains why responsible,
short-term rental managers strongly favor this approach over previous regulatory efforts.
Why a Local Contact Requirement Matters
Communities often express frustration when a short-term rental property has no reachable
or capable representative during a disturbance. Whether the issue involves noise, parking,
trash, or guest behavior, the inability to reach someone who can respond promptly is one of
the most common catalysts for anti-STR sentiment and grassroots opposition.
A single unresponsive property can harm the reputation of the entire industry. A “bad
apple” scenario—where no one can be reached when problems arise—has historically
motivated many cities to pursue sweeping, punitive regulations.
The proposed ordinance replaces that reactionary approach with a narrow, targeted
requirement: ensure that each STR has a qualified Responsible Local Contact who
understands the laws, can be reached 24/7, and can be physically present within one hour
when necessary. This is a reasonable, practical, industry-supported solution.
The Facts - What the Proposed Ordinance Does
- Requires every STR to have a designated Responsible Local Contact
- Must be either the owner if local, a licensed local professional property management company, or an individual who is local and licensed with SC LLR.
- Must maintain a city business license.
- Must be reachable 24/7 and available in person within one hour when requested by City staff or law enforcement.
- Promotes professionalism and accountability
- Ensures STRs are operated by individuals or firms who understand state law, licensing requirements, and their obligations to the community.
- Provides the City with a single, verified point of contact for operational concerns.
- Relies on existing nuisance laws—not new ones
- Noise, parking, and trash rules already exist and apply equally to all residential properties—STR or not.
- This ordinance improves enforcement by ensuring someone responsible can respond.
- Creates a transparent public registry of business licensees engaged in STR’s
- Includes the STR’s business license number, Responsible Local Contact name, 24-hour phone number, and property address.
- Enhances accountability without restricting the right to rent.
- Establishes fair, graduated penalties for non-compliance
- Targets only operators who fail to meet basic responsiveness, licensing, or tax requirements.
- Includes warnings, fines, and an appeals process administered by a balanced committee.
Conclusion
North Myrtle Beach’s proposed Local Contact Ordinance is a practical, targeted solution that
addresses a primary source of community frustration with STRs: unresponsive or
unqualified operators. It avoids the heavy-handed pitfalls of earlier proposals, protects
property rights, prioritizes existing laws over new regulations, and creates a path for
responsible operators to continue contributing to the city’s tourism economy.