Myrtle Beach to ban converting short-term rentals. What does this mean for hotel owners?
.JPG "Hotels in Myrtle Beach fill the skyline along Ocean Boulevard on March 26, 2020.")
Myrtle Beach permanently banned converting hotels and motels near the ocean into apartment-style complexes.
The Myrtle Beach City Council unanimously approved a new short-term rental overlay to its code of ordinances at its Dec. 10, 2024, meeting. The city council voted on the proposal twice, as residents hadn’t been able to comment before the initial passage of the ordinance. The plan passed a second time after public comment ended.
The zoning change bans converting short-term rental buildings into long-term housing for more than 90 days. The overlay exempts properties like single-family homes and duplexes. The zoning overlay pertains to properties east of Kings Highway, where most short-term rentals for less than 90 days are allowed in Myrtle Beach.
Before passing the ordinance, City Attorney William Bryan requested adding an amendment, which city council adopted. The change allowed owners of units within the overlay zone with a business license to operate their property as a long-term rental before the passage of the new ordinance to continue to do so. Bryan’s amendment stipulated that property owners must maintain their business licenses to keep using their units for long-term rentals.
Myrtle Beach City Manager Fox Simons also said the city council can change the zoning overlay if it causes issues.
“It’s not open heart surgery,” Simons added.
According to the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, overlay zoning is “a special zoning district, placed over an existing base zone(s), which identifies special provisions in addition to those in the underlying base zone.”
UWSP’s report added overlay districts typically assist with managing areas with environmental concerns or prevent undesirable development with a specific area.
Myrtle Beach Assistant City Manager Brian Tucker previously appeared at the Planning Commission’s Nov. 19, 2024, meeting to discuss the new overlay amendment. He said properties requesting to convert the buildings along Ocean Boulevard first drew concern, leading the city to act. Tucker said Myrtle Beach’s status as a vacation destination meant losing hotels and short-term rentals for long-term use wasn’t ideal.
He added that while affordable housing is essential in the area, former hotels and motels were not appropriate for long-term rentals nor “dignified.”
Tucker added the new zoning overlay doesn’t prevent property owners from circumventing the new zoning overlay by renting out rooms week-to-week to the same tenants, which would be hard to stop.
The city pushed to ban short-term conversions larger than a single-family home or duplex partly due to potential lost tax revenue from vacation-related taxes like hospitality fees. Myrtle Beach first put a nine-month moratorium on conversions in April 2024.
A September 2024 study by the South Carolina-based firm Muldrow & Associates, commissioned by the city, estimated that Myrtle Beach could lose $2.48 million in tax revenue for every 1,000 short-term rental units changed for long-term use. The report also claimed Horry County could lose $1.19 million in tax revenue if 1,000 units received a long-term use designation.
