NC coastal towns are closing beaches -- what are your rights as a renter?

CAROLINA BEACH, N.C. — If you were hoping to keep your Spring Break beach plans, you won’t be able to rent a house or condo in Carolina Beach.

Tuesday night, town officials decided to discontinue all short-term rentals. Rental agencies and property owners must boot their renters by 2 p.m. Friday and no new renters until at least April 22.

So, if you’re a renter and beaches are closed -- what are your rights?

If you already paid in full or put down a deposit toward that rental, the big question would be should you get your money back if you can’t get access to it.

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The North Carolina Real Estate Commission says the law sides with renters and if visitor access is blocked, vacation renters should get their money back.

“North Carolina’s very specific laws and so each case is gonna be fact specific if folks are having trouble with their beach rentals and feel like they’re not being treated fairly, they should file a complaint with my office online at ncdoj.gov/complaint,” North Carolina attorney general Josh Stein said.

No one knows how long the visitor restrictions will last so if you’re book for after April, it is a wait and see. Once access is allowed to these beaches, refunds or re-booking won’t be an option unless you have insurance.

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