County Takes no Action on Short-Term Rentals at Initial Meeting

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

No action was taken at Thursday’s Anderson County Council Short-Term Rental Ad Hoc Committee, but citizens on both sides of the issue were on hand to express their opinions.

The committee was established after residents of the lake-front Green Hill Plantation Subdivision complained of a house being rented as an Airbnb in their neighborhood was a regular site of loud parties and road-blocking traffic issues. 

Earlier the South Carolina General Assembly, which had considered legislation, pushed the decisions back onto local governments after lobbyists representing both sides of the issue weighed in with different agendas.

Locally, those who live in neighborhoods where the rentals have been a problem, argued for some restrictions on allowing such rentals in established neighborhoods. Others, who oppose any restrictions, argued that property rights should not be limited by restrictions on rental units.

The argument comes as a housing shortage in Anderson County becomes more acute. The county posted the third largest increase in rent prices between 2021 and 2022 in the United States. wotj  a staggering 117.8 percent jump. The median monthly rent price in the county is now $1,960.

The population growth, the national purchase of housing by hedge funds, and short supply of rental properties are among reasons for the increase.

The county council committee will continue to meet to consider what action, if any, will result.