Crackdown on Lake Murray short-term rentals could be coming in Lexington County

Horror stories about short-term rentals around Lake Murray are leading Lexington County Council to consider new rules for owners who rent out their property by the night using online platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo.

Councilwoman Charli Wessinger said she has received multiple complaints from residents in her Chapin-area district about disruptive behavior from guests staying with short-term rentals in their neighborhoods.

“I’ve had one gentleman tell me he called the sheriff to report parking in the street, noise ordinance issues, and the next morning he walked out and feces got spread all over his vehicle,” Wessinger said.

Councilwoman Beth Carrigg, who represents communities around the Lake Murray dam, said it’s a problem that has spread beyond lakeside properties to more established neighborhoods.

“Older residents have moved out, and their homes have been bought by people who don’t intend to live there, who intended to use it as a business that’s profitable for them, and it’s turned into something that’s not healthy for the neighborhood,” she said.

Carrigg said she knows of a five-bedroom property in the Whitehall neighborhood where the owner “rents out each bedroom by the night.”

“There’s been a lot of drug use, drug trafficking, a lot of marijuana use permeating the neighborhood,” Carrigg said. “One individual who stayed and paid by the night actually pulled up a food truck and was serving food out of the driveway.”

Council members on Tuesday discussed ways to regulate short-term rentals within the Lake Murray overlay district, a more than 100-square-mile area around the region’s top recreation destination created by Lexington County as part of an overhaul of housing rules.

Airbnb and Vrbo did not immediately provide a statement to The State when contacted for comment on the proposal. Airbnb, the largest company offering an online platform for nightly rental listings, offers a way for neighbors to contact the company directly about disruptive behavior and has policies against using rental properties to host parties, according to the company’s website.

Wessinger said one homeowners association in Chapin now prohibits property being sold to a corporate owner, requiring a local individual to be put on the deed.

But Councilman Todd Cullum pointed out that HOA rules are not laws that the county can enforce. The associations “call us, and we can’t do anything to enforce their rules for them,” Cullum said.

County staff estimated that within the Lake Murray area, almost 1,000 properties were registered with Airbnb and another 69 were registered on Vrbo. But owners may list and remove their properties at any time, and some may have the same property listed on multiple sites.

Other municipalities in Folly Beach and Myrtle Beach have recently enacted tighter restrictions that have cut the number of short-term rentals in half, Carrigg said, partly by preventing rental licenses from being passed from one owner to another when a property changes hands.

County staff have researched how other local governments have regulated short-term rentals, Administrator Lynn Sturkie said. Some Lowcountry jurisdictions require a special short-term rental license that can only be used in certain zoning areas, as well as a business license. Others regulate the services using land-use rules and local accommodations taxes. Some even require a zoning board to approve short-term rentals.

Possible penalties for violations include cancellation of any business license, denial of other rental licenses, potential criminal charges and civil penalties, depending on the violation.

Councilman Darrell Hudson said the growth of short-term rentals represent a change in how people both vacation and manage their property.

“You know what kind of business it is when Airbnb airs six different commercials during the Super Bowl,” Hudson said.

Multiple council members said Tuesday they had stayed in short-term rentals themselves. Wessinger said a friend travels for work as a nurse and uses short-term rentals to rest up between 12-hour shifts. “They’re not there partying,” she said.

“We don’t want to make it so that people can’t make money, that’s a way of life in America,” said Hudson. “But we do want to enforce this on people breaking the law, parking, partying, destroying property.”

Cullum said he didn’t want any new rules to serve as a new revenue stream for the county.

“I’m not interested in generating revenue off the backs of these people, but come in as a business, and disturb the tranquility of the neighborhood, that’s a problem,” he said.

Council members asked staff to come up with potential zoning proposals that could be considered at the next meeting.