If you want to own or operate short-term rental housing in Greensboro – which is a rental to a tenant for a period of 30 days or less – the City of Greensboro Planning Department has created and published a new online interactive map to help you stay in compliance with the law.

According to city planning officials, the goal of the new map is for property owners and operators to make sure the planned location of their short term rental unit conforms to the city’s regulations – namely, that the units within the city limits of Greensboro must be separated by at least 750 feet.

With the new map, owner-operators can locate the address of the proposed short term rentals on the map and it will identify others in the immediate area.

While companies like Airbnb have become popular for many travelers and others who want to stay in a location for a short period of time – but don’t want to stay in a hotel or motel – there have, both nationally and locally, been well-publicized problems, such as people renting the units for loud and sometimes destructive parties.

And many people don’t see short term rentals in their neighborhood as a very good thing.

In April, the City of Greensboro imposed new regulations – such as restricting occupancy, limiting cars parked at an Airbnb house and taking other steps. That was an attempt to get a grip on the problem, and, later, the City of Greensboro announced a new “hotline” that residents to call to report issues of concern with problems the short-term rentals cause in their neighborhoods.

In September, a former Clemson football star was shot and killed at a late-night party being held at an Airbnb in Guilford County. Detectives said that, in that case, the owner of the property was unaware the party was taking place.

According to the city’s ordinance regulating short term rentals, the properties must be separated from other short term rentals by 750 feet or more as measured from property lines if located in a single-family dwelling or two-family dwelling (duplex or twin home).

Those who wish to rent to tenants this way must apply for and obtain a zoning permit from the City of Greensboro in order to operate legally.

Since the ordinance took effect earlier this year, the city has received 526 zoning permit applications, issued 452 permits and denied 49 applications.

Though the new interactive map is meant to keep people in line with the law, the city issued a very strong disclaimer for users: “This ‘Map of Approved Short-term Rentals’ is provided by the City for general information purposes only.  This is only a graphic representation and should not be considered as positionally accurate. The data is provided to you ‘as-is’ with no claim made as to its accuracy or its appropriateness to your intended use of the data. It is the responsibility of the user of the data to be aware of its limitations and to utilize the data in an appropriate manner. Therefore, under no circumstances shall the City of Greensboro or its representatives be held responsible for any costs, expenses, damages or injuries, including special or incidental or consequential damages to any person(s) or property that arise from the use of the information provided.”

In other words, check things out very, very thoroughly with city planners before engaging in this practice.

Due to the time it takes to process new applications for short term rentals, the city’s new interactive map will be updated weekly.

 Any questions related to the application process should be directed to the Planning Department by calling 336-373-2144.

If you need to report a problem with a short term rental in Greensboro, you can call 336-387-6137 or submit an online form 24/7 to report an issue or situation. Complaints will be recorded by the City of Greensboro’s third-party vendor who will then contact the owner/operator of the property, and the owner/operator will handle the situation from that point forward.

Here are some of the regulations the City of Greensboro has placed on short term rentals:

  • Applicants must obtain a zoning permit, pay the application fee, and prominently place the permit inside the rental unit and in listings associated with the short term rental.
  • Rentals are only allowed in residential dwelling units.
  • No more than one dwelling unit or 25 percent of dwelling units within a multifamily building can be used as a short term rental.
  • A maximum of two adults are allowed per rented bedroom.
  • No publicly announced or promoted events that involve more than two times the number of guests are allowed.
  • No exterior signs advertising a short term rental are allowed.
  • Hosts of “whole house” short term rentals must be located in Guilford County or in an adjacent county. The hosts must also, by law, post their contact information in a prominent location inside the rental space and they have to be readily accessible throughout the rental period.
  • Parking is limited to one car per bedroom rented and parking is subject to any relevant community standards normally applied to the dwelling unit.

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