LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. — More and more short term rentals, like Airbnbs are popping up in big numbers throughout South Carolina, and specifically Lexington County.
Now, county leaders feel the need to take some action.
Lexington County council is set to discuss this, as agenda item number four in the committee meeting Tuesday starting at 2:15 p.m. at 212 South Lake Drive.
Lexington County council chair Beth Carrigg explains that's because residents have brought concerns to council's attention.
"They had concerns about people coming in and out of their neighborhood renting houses for a couple of days at the time, maybe a week at the time, maybe they're on a business trip, but they didn't move into that residential neighborhood for there to be transitional people coming in and out. So we felt like it would be in our best interest to take a look at exactly what's happening, what other communities around the state, what counties, municipalities are doing around the state to see how we can best serve the people of Lexington County," Carrigg said.
Carrigg says Lake Murray Airbnbs are popular because everyone loves spending time by the water, but the worry is about too much noise from renters throwing parties or renters trashing the property and devaluing the homes nearby.
"Most of the homes out on Lake Murray are still on septic tank and as you might imagine, if those homes are not treated with the utmost respect, then those systems can fail," Carrigg said.
Zeke Riddle has been a real estate broker for over 15 years, primarily around Lake Murray, Chapin, Irmo and Columbia.
He explains there's certainly a happy medium that can be found to please both the renters and homeowners.
"Our lake is so beautiful and it's such a draw to people and I think Airbnbs are bringing more tourists into our market, whether it's the Lake Murray area or Columbia, which is a good thing cause those people are coming into town and they're spending money here in our market," Riddle said.
The meeting will be open to the public, but there won't be any time allocated for public comment.
The meeting starts at 2:15 pm Tuesday at 212 South Lake Drive.