City of Southport refunding short-term rental registration fees

SOUTHPORT, NC (WWAY) — If you paid to register your short-term rental in Southport, a refund is coming your way.

This stems from a lawsuit filed by a couple who sued the City of Wilmington over their short-term rental procedures. The NC Court of Appeals ruled that Wilmington’s ordinance regulating short-term rentals through a registration process violates state law.

Based on this ruling, the City of Southport is refunding fees that were collected when the registration program was enforced. In July 2021, the City of Southport adopted an amendment to our Unified Development Ordinances that set supplemental standards for Short-term vacation rentals and homestays. Part of the ordinance requirement was participating in a registration program to ensure compliance with all the standards and the occupancy tax requirements.

The city is now in the process of issuing refunds to those who registered a short-term vacation rental or homestay and paid for the permit. All refunds are expected to be complete by March.

If you paid originally with a Debit or Credit card, please verify that the card is still active, so the payment can be reversed.

If you no longer use that card, please notify Tori Deviney in Permitting, as soon as possible. She can be reached at (910) 457-7925.