Morrisville

No named permit

We found no Morrisville permit or registration for short-term rentals.[3] The Town's permits page names permits for special events, signs, food trucks and home businesses, and none for short-term rentals.[3]

Use table

The UDO's use table lists bed and breakfast and hotel/motel under accommodation uses, and no short-term rental use.[1] A blank cell means the use is prohibited in that district.[1]

Short stays

The UDO describes visitor accommodation as lodging for short-term stays of typically less than 30 days, with hotels/motels and bed and breakfasts as examples.[7] It describes household living as tenancy generally arranged on a month-to-month or longer basis.[6]

Bed and breakfast

The UDO defines a bed and breakfast as a residence renting one or more sleeping rooms for periods of less than one week and serving guests breakfast.[8] We found no definition of short-term rental in the UDO's defined terms.[9]

Unlisted uses

The Planning Director can treat an unlisted principal use as allowed in a district only after finding it so similar to a listed use allowed there that it should be allowed the same way.[2] Ask the Town's planning staff for that answer in writing for your address.

State vacation rental law

North Carolina's Vacation Rental Act covers rentals of residential property for fewer than 90 days to a guest who has a permanent home elsewhere.[10] It binds landlords and real estate brokers, who need a written rental agreement with the Act's notice and can't pay out more than 50% of the rent before the guest arrives.[10]

Events and signs

The Town requires permits for special events and for signs.[3] Violations of the special event permit rules carry a $100 civil penalty for a first offense and $200 for a repeat.[11]

Sales tax

North Carolina taxes the gross receipts from renting an accommodation at the general state rate.[12] The state's rate table lists 7.25% for Wake County, which includes the 0.50% transit tax.[4] A 2017 state notice says that is a 4.75% state rate, a 2.00% county rate and the 0.50% transit rate.[13]

Room occupancy tax

Wake County charges a 6% room occupancy tax on gross receipts from renting a room, lodging or accommodation.[5] The county says its ordinance also covers rooms or houses that individuals rent through booking websites.[5]

Total rate

For a property in Wake County, adding the 7.25% sales tax and the 6% occupancy tax, we get 13.25%.[4, 5]

Who collects

For the state tax, the retailer who collects the payment for the rental owes it, and that can be the accommodation provider or an accommodation facilitator.[12] For the county tax, retailers must open an account with the county and file by the 20th of the next month, even if nothing is due.[5]

Stays of 90 days or more

The state sales tax doesn't apply to an accommodation supplied to the same person for 90 or more continuous days.[12] Wake County exempts rentals to the same person for 90 or more consecutive days from its occupancy tax too.[5]

Zoning complaints

The Town's permits page points people with zoning concerns to its online Concern Reporter Center.[3]

Fixing a violation

After a notice of violation, the Town can order the violation fixed, or an administrative hearing requested, within a set time that can't exceed 30 days.[14] It may grant one extension of up to 90 days for good cause.[14]

Civil penalties

Most violations of the UDO, other than riparian buffer, stormwater and tree rules, carry $50 per violation for the first day and $100 per violation for each day after, and each day is a separate offense.[15] The Town gives violators 30 calendar days to pay or ask for an administrative hearing.[15]

State bill

A 2025 bill titled Regulation of Short-Term Rentals, Senate Bill 291, was referred to the Senate Rules and Operations Committee on Mar 17, 2025.[16] The General Assembly's history shows no later action.[16]