Charleston's popularity as a destination has filled the area with short-term rentals. When a guest is hurt at an Airbnb or vacation rental because of an unsafe condition, South Carolina premises law may allow a claim against the host. You generally have three years to file and can recover if you were 50 percent or less at fault, but these cases add a layer most premises claims do not: platform insurance and the question of which coverage applies.
Our team at The Arndt Law Firm represents guests injured at short-term rentals across Charleston County, and this page explains how host responsibility and the available insurance work together.
A paying guest at a short-term rental occupies a position that South Carolina premises law treats favorably. Because the guest is on the property for the host's financial benefit, the guest is generally an invitee, the category owed the highest duty of care. That means the host must use reasonable care to keep the property safe, which includes inspecting for hazards, fixing dangerous conditions, and warning of dangers that cannot be immediately corrected.
This duty has real content in the short-term rental setting. A host who rents a property to strangers is responsible for ensuring that the stairs are sound, the railings secure, the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors functional, the walkways clear, and any amenities like pools, hot tubs, decks, and grills reasonably safe. A host cannot simply hand over the keys and disclaim responsibility for the condition of the property; the duty to provide reasonably safe premises runs with the rental.
The nature of short-term rentals heightens the host's duty. Guests are unfamiliar with the property, do not know where hazards lie, and rely entirely on the host to have addressed them, which makes the host's duty to inspect and warn particularly important. A loose step that a long-term resident would learn to avoid is a genuine danger to a guest who has never seen it, and the law accounts for that reliance in measuring what the host owed.
The City of Charleston regulates short-term rentals through a local permit and operational system. A property may not be advertised or operated as a short-term rental until the required approvals and inspections are completed, fees are paid, a valid certificate of operation is issued, and the corresponding business license is obtained. Permits must be renewed annually, and the permit number must appear in online advertising.
Charleston’s requirements vary by location and property category. The rules distinguish properties on the peninsula, within the Short-Term Rental Overlay Zone, in historic areas, and in off-peninsula communities such as James Island, Johns Island, Daniel Island, and West Ashley. Some categories include owner-occupancy, building age, parking, inspection, and operational requirements.
A missing permit or ordinance violation does not automatically prove civil liability for every injury. It may, however, provide relevant evidence about whether the property was lawfully operated, inspected, or maintained and whether a safety requirement was ignored. The applicable ordinance, permit file, inspection history, certificate of operation, business license, and online listing should therefore be obtained early.
Short-term rental injuries arise from a recognizable set of hazards, many tied to the features that make these properties appealing. Falls are the most common, from defective or poorly lit stairs, slippery surfaces, uneven flooring, and unsecured rugs, and Charleston's historic properties often feature older stairs and uneven floors that present real risks to unfamiliar guests. A fall on a defective stairway can cause serious injury.
Water features and amenities are a frequent source of serious injuries. Swimming pools and hot tubs carry drowning and slip risks, particularly when they lack required safeguards or are poorly maintained, and decks, balconies, and porches can fail when they are not properly built or maintained, a real concern in a coastal climate that stresses these structures. Grills, fire pits, and outdoor features add burn and injury risks that a host is expected to manage.
Other hazards round out the picture. Carbon monoxide from faulty heating or appliances is a hidden and potentially fatal danger when detectors are absent or non-functional, and defective furniture, inadequate lighting, and unmarked hazards around the property cause injuries to guests who do not know the space. Negligent security can also be an issue at a rental in an area where foreseeable criminal activity was not reasonably addressed. Each of these turns on whether the host met the duty to provide a reasonably safe property.
Airbnb includes a Host Liability Insurance program within AirCover for Hosts. Subject to the program’s policy terms, it may provide up to $1 million in liability coverage when an Airbnb host or another covered person is found legally responsible for bodily injury to a guest or another person during a qualifying Airbnb stay. The program protects covered hosts; it does not guarantee payment to an injured guest merely because an injury occurred at an Airbnb property.
The availability and priority of that coverage depend on the policy language, the circumstances of the booking, the identity of the insured parties, applicable exclusions, and other available insurance. Airbnb states that Host Liability Insurance is subject to terms and exclusions and is not a substitute for personal insurance. Current program materials also explain that other insurance may affect whether the Airbnb program applies as primary, excess, or contributory coverage in certain circumstances.
An injured guest should therefore not assume that $1 million is automatically available or that Airbnb itself will voluntarily pay the claim. The investigation must identify the host, property owner, property manager, relevant Airbnb program, and every private liability policy that may respond.
Beyond the platform coverage, the host may carry other insurance. Many hosts hold short-term rental policies or homeowner's insurance. However, standard homeowner's policies often exclude short-term rental activity, which can create disputes over whether the host's personal insurance responds. Identifying every potentially applicable policy, including the platform coverage, the host's short-term rental or homeowner's policy, and any others, is central to a short-term rental injury claim because the available coverage determines what the injured guest can recover.
The way these claims are administered creates its own challenges for an injured guest. Because the platform's coverage is governed by the platform's policy rather than the host's, the platform controls how a claim is handled and how much it pays, and the injured guest is not a named insured with the usual policy rights. Claims processed through these programs have been reported as slow and inconsistent, and the platform retains significant discretion over the outcome.
At the same time, a serious injury can exceed the platform's coverage limit, leaving a gap that the host's insurance or another responsible party's insurance must fill. Understanding how these layers fit together and pursuing each one prevents an injured guest from being limited to whatever the platform chooses to offer. This coordination of multiple coverage sources is one feature that distinguishes a short-term rental injury claim from an ordinary premises case.
South Carolina follows a modified comparative negligence rule established by the South Carolina Supreme Court in Nelson v. Concrete Supply Co., 303 S.C. 243, 399 S.E.2d 783 (1991). An injured guest may generally recover when their share of fault is 50 percent or less, but the award is reduced by that percentage. Recovery is barred when the guest’s fault exceeds the combined fault of the defendants.
S.C. Code § 15-38-15 addresses the allocation of fault and damages among defendants and other tortfeasors. It should not be cited as the original source of South Carolina’s modified comparative negligence rule. The statute itself refers separately to the applicable rules of comparative negligence.
A host, property manager, or insurer may argue that the guest misused an amenity, ignored a warning, entered a restricted area, or failed to notice an allegedly open and obvious condition. These allegations do not automatically defeat the claim, but any percentage of fault assigned to the injured guest will reduce the recovery.
The host is the primary defendant in most short-term rental injury claims, as the party responsible for the condition of the property and for meeting the duty owed to guests. But the host is not always the only responsible party, and identifying every potential defendant is part of building the case. When a property management company manages the property, that company may share responsibility for maintenance and safety depending on its role.
Other parties may be responsible depending on the circumstances. A contractor whose defective work created a hazard, such as a poorly built deck or faulty wiring, can be liable, and a manufacturer can be held liable for a defective product, such as a heater that produced carbon monoxide. If the rental is part of a larger building or community, the entity responsible for common areas may be a defendant when the injury occurred in a shared space.
Sorting out these relationships matters because it determines which parties may be liable and which insurance policies may respond. A serious injury at a short-term rental can exceed the platform's coverage, and identifying every responsible party and every applicable policy is what allows the claim to reach the full coverage the injury requires. The investigation that maps the host, any management company, contractors, and the relevant insurance is the foundation of a complete claim.
Short-term rental injuries range from minor to catastrophic, and the most serious, falls from height, drownings, carbon monoxide poisoning, and burns, can produce life-altering harm. When a serious injury occurs at a Charleston rental, the guest is often treated at MUSC Health University Medical Center on Ashley Avenue, the Lowcountry's only Level I trauma center, or another area hospital, and the records generated there establish the severity of the injury and anchor the damages claim.
A fatal drowning, carbon-monoxide exposure, fire, balcony collapse, or other rental-property incident may give rise to both a wrongful-death claim and a survival claim. South Carolina’s wrongful-death statute permits a claim when a person’s death was caused by conduct that would have allowed the person to bring an injury claim had death not occurred. The action is brought by the personal representative for the benefit of the surviving spouse and children, or, if none, the parents or heirs identified by statute.
A survival action is different. Under S.C. Code § 15-5-90, the decedent’s own personal-injury claim survives for the benefit of the estate. It may include damages the person sustained between the injury and death, depending on the evidence.
Wrongful-death and survival claims are generally subject to South Carolina’s three-year limitations framework, but the accrual analysis, appointment of a personal representative, potential government involvement, and court-approval requirements can affect the process. Any settlement of a wrongful death or survival action must receive the approval required by South Carolina law.
The steps a guest takes after an injury at a short-term rental can determine whether a claim succeeds, and some are specific to the rental setting. The first priority is medical care, both for health and to document the injury at its origin, which matters especially for a visitor who may be far from home and tempted to delay treatment until returning. Getting evaluated at a Charleston-area facility creates the medical record the claim depends on and protects against an argument that the injury was minor.
Documentation is urgent because the property is not static. If possible, photograph the hazard, the surrounding area, the lighting, and any missing safety features, such as detectors or railings, before anything is changed, as the host may repair or alter the condition before the next guest arrives. Report the injury to the host and through the booking platform to create a dated record and preserve the booking information that determines which insurance applies. Note the names and contact information of anyone who witnessed the incident, including other guests.
In the days that follow, preserve the digital trail and be careful about communications. Keep the reservation confirmation, the listing as it appeared when you booked, and any messages with the host, all of which can establish the host's representations and what they knew. Avoid giving a recorded statement to the host's insurer or the platform's representatives before understanding your rights, and keep a file of medical records and expenses. Because the property and its online listing can change quickly, seeking advice early allows the evidence to be preserved before it is altered or removed.
Short-term rental cases turn on evidence of the hazard and the host's failure to address it, and much of it is uniquely perishable because the property continues to be rented. Photographs of the dangerous condition, taken immediately, are critical because the host may repair or alter the hazard before the next guest arrives, eliminating the physical evidence. Documenting the condition, the lighting, and the surrounding circumstances right after the injury preserves what the case depends on.
The booking and platform records are distinctive to these cases. The reservation confirms the guest's status and the dates, which bear on whether platform coverage applies, and the listing itself, including its photographs and descriptions, can show how the property was represented and what amenities were offered. Messages between the guest and host and any prior reviews mentioning the hazard can establish what the host knew. Preserving these records early is important because they can be altered or removed.
Witnesses and medical records complete the picture. Other guests, neighbors, and anyone who observed the hazard or the injury can describe what happened, and the medical records connect the injury to the incident. Reporting the injury to the host and the platform creates an early record. Because the deadline is generally three years under S.C. Code § 15-3-530(5) but the property and its evidence can change between rentals, acting early is often decisive.
| Coverage source | When it may apply | Notes |
| Platform host liability (e.g., AirCover) | Injury during a platform-booked stay where host is liable | Up to $1M; excludes intentional harm; platform administers |
| Host's STR or homeowner's policy | Depends on policy terms and rental activity | Standard homeowner's policies often exclude short-term rentals |
| Property manager's coverage | When a management company shared responsibility | Depends on the manager's role and contract |
| Contractor or manufacturer coverage | When defective work or a product caused the hazard | Adds another potential source of recovery |
Yes, if an unsafe condition caused your injury and the host failed in the duty to keep the property reasonably safe. A paying guest is generally owed the highest duty of care.
Airbnb’s Host Liability Insurance program may provide coverage when a covered host or other insured person is legally responsible for an injury during a qualifying Airbnb stay. Coverage is subject to policy terms, exclusions, limits, and the claims process, so the existence of an Airbnb reservation does not guarantee payment.
Platform coverage generally applies only to bookings made through the platform, so a direct booking may fall outside it, making the host's own insurance the relevant source.
A South Carolina personal injury action is generally subject to a three-year limitations period, but shorter rules may apply when a governmental entity owns or controls the property. Claims governed by the South Carolina Tort Claims Act generally have a two-year deadline, which may extend to three years when a properly verified claim is filed within one year after the loss was or should have been discovered. The correct deadline depends on the property owner, the responsible parties, and the nature of the claim.
Yes, under South Carolina’s modified comparative negligence rule, you may generally recover if you were 50 percent or less at fault. Your compensation is reduced by your percentage of responsibility. If you are found 51 percent or more at fault, recovery is barred.
The Arndt Law Firm approaches every Charleston short-term rental injury by establishing the host's duty under South Carolina premises law, documenting the hazard before the property is altered for the next guest, and identifying every applicable source of coverage, from the platform's host liability insurance to the host's own policy and any property manager's policy.
Because attorney Arndt previously defended insurers, the firm understands how these claims are evaluated and contested and builds them to reach the coverage the injury requires.
If you were hurt at a vacation rental in Charleston County, acting early protects the evidence because the property keeps being rented and a hazard can be repaired or hidden before the next guest arrives. The consultation is free, short-term rental injury cases are handled on a contingency basis with no fee unless there is a recovery, and the booking records and physical evidence that prove these claims are most available right after the injury.
Reach out through our contact page to discuss what happened and see how these rules apply statewide on our South Carolina Airbnb injury page.
Last reviewed: June 2026
This page was reviewed for legal accuracy by Jonathan S. Arndt, founder of The Arndt Law Firm and a South Carolina personal injury attorney. Before representing injured people, Attorney Arndt defended insurers and institutional clients, giving him experience with coverage disputes, premises investigations, comparative-fault allegations, and the defenses insurers use in property-injury claims.
