Will a Hilton Head gated community ban short-term rentals soon? Here’s what they decided

The Hilton Head Plantation board of directors announced a big step toward banning temporary rental units in the community.

Hilton Head Plantation voters will decide in January on an amendment that will define any lease less than six months as a “short-term rental,” general manager Peter Kristian said in the packed meeting with more than 120 people on Tuesday morning.

If the amendment passes, Hilton Head Plantation will “prohibit” short-term leasing — including rentals from websites such as Airbnb and Vacation Rental By Owner.

The amendment would apply to 3,589 out of 4,000 homes in the community, only excluding independently-governed communities like The Cypress or Ribaut Island.

Kristian said the board of directors will use all of its resources and communicate with the town to make it “as difficult as possible for someone to rent short-term” in the community.

In July, a closed Facebook group of around 70 people formed to “control” the rental situation and “stop the daily/weekly rentals” after residents say they discovered daily and weekly rental postings online.

Some Hilton Head Plantation residents said in the meeting they do not want daily or weekly rentals in the community because the high turnover of people would drive down property values and create safety concerns.

Several residents said they do not want the community to become tourist-saturated “like Sea Pines.”

Kristian told residents in the meeting that the community “is not overrun” with Airbnb guests, and that Hilton Head Plantation is “probably dealing with under 25 properties at this point.”

Kristian said that the amendment may be difficult to pass since it requires 67 percent of the population to vote “yes,” a designation by the Hilton Head Plantation bylaws. He said the community does not have a concrete implementation date if the amendment gets approved, but he said anyone who is renting short term will receive adequate notice so they can alert renters.

This story was originally published October 16, 2018 at 6:57 PM.