Charleston Township
Short-term & long-term rental regulations, fees, and investor resources for Kalamazoo County, Michigan.
Area Overview
Charleston Township is a rural township of roughly 1,900 residents spread across about 35 square miles of farmland and scattered single-family homes in eastern Kalamazoo County [1][10]. It borders the small city of Galesburg to the west and the Battle Creek area to the east, and it straddles the I-94 corridor that links Kalamazoo and Battle Creek [1]. Most of the township sits within the Galesburg-Augusta Community Schools district, and the Township Hall is at 1499 South 38th Street in Galesburg [2].
For rental investors and landlords, Charleston Township is a light-regulation environment. The township has adopted no short-term rental ordinance, and it runs no rental registration, licensing, or inspection program for long-term rentals [6]. Its only land-use rulebook is a single zoning ordinance that the township distributes as a scanned image PDF [3]. Renting a home on a long-term lease is treated as ordinary residential use, while short-term rentals fall into a genuine gray area: the zoning ordinance was written before vacation-rental platforms existed and never defines or mentions them [3].
Two practical details shape due diligence here. Building, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing permits are not issued by the township or by Kalamazoo County; Charleston contracts with Associated Government Services (AGS), a private regional building department [5]. And because there is no municipal sewer across most of the township, nearly every property relies on a private septic system permitted through Kalamazoo County, whose sizing rules effectively limit how many bedrooms, and therefore how many overnight guests, a property can legally support [8][9].
Quick Status Summary
Charleston Township has no short-term rental ordinance, no STR registration, and no STR permit requirement [6]. The zoning ordinance, written before vacation-rental platforms existed, never defines or addresses short-term rentals, so an STR is neither expressly permitted nor expressly prohibited as a land use [3]. This is a real gray area. Before relying on nightly-rental income, confirm directly with the Township Supervisor, who administers zoning, that a short-term rental is acceptable on your specific parcel [2].
Long-term rentals are permitted as ordinary residential use wherever the zoning ordinance allows a dwelling, and Charleston Township operates no rental registration, license, or inspection program [6]. There are no township rental fees and no recurring township rental inspection. Standard Michigan landlord-tenant law applies, and any renovation work still requires a building permit through the township’s contracted building department, AGS [5].
Rental Regulations
Where STRs Are Allowed (Zoning)
Charleston Township’s zoning ordinance does not address short-term rentals at all. There is no short-term rental, vacation rental, tourist home, or bed-and-breakfast use category anywhere in the residential or agricultural districts [3].
The ordinance divides the township into seven districts: A (Agriculture), R-1 (single- and two-family residential), R-2 (multiple-family residential), R-3 (mobile home park), C-1 and C-2 (commercial), and I-1 (restricted industrial) [3]. It defines a dwelling unit as space designed for permanent occupancy and was adopted long before nightly-rental platforms existed, so short-term rentals were simply never contemplated [3].
Because an STR is neither listed as a permitted use nor as a prohibited one, the only way to get a definitive answer for a specific parcel is to ask the Township Supervisor, who administers zoning [2]; the zoning map shows which district a parcel falls in [4]. The township’s master copy of the ordinance is a scanned image PDF, and a searchable, OCR copy is hosted by the township’s contracted building department for easier reading [3].
Is There an STR Permit or Registration?
No. There is no short-term rental permit, registration, or license to file with Charleston Township, because the township operates no STR program of any kind [6].
Confirm the current state of play with the Township Supervisor before underwriting an STR, and watch Planning Commission and Township Board agendas for any proposed rental ordinance [12].
What Still Limits a Short-Term Rental
Even with no STR ordinance, three things still constrain a short-term rental in Charleston Township: private septic capacity, the anti-blight ordinance, and the underlying zoning use rules [3][7][8].
Septic capacity. Nearly every property in the township is on a private septic system permitted by Kalamazoo County [8]. A septic system is sized by bedroom count, and the county sanitary code ties allowable occupancy to that sizing, so a property cannot legally sleep more guests than its septic permit supports [9]. Before marketing a high-occupancy STR, pull the septic permit and confirm the rated bedroom count.
Anti-blight ordinance. The township’s anti-blight ordinance applies to every parcel, owner-occupied or rented, and sets enforceable standards for exterior condition, junk, and debris [7].
Zoning use. Although STRs are not named, the parcel must still sit in a district that allows a dwelling, and the structure must remain a legal dwelling unit under the ordinance [3].
Could Charleston Township Regulate STRs Later?
Yes, and an investor relying on short-term rental income should treat that as a real possibility. Any new STR ordinance would originate with the Planning Commission and be adopted by the Township Board at a public meeting [12][2].
Small rural Michigan townships have increasingly adopted short-term rental ordinances over the past few years, and Charleston could follow. Because the township issues no STR permit or registration today, an operation started now has no paperwork on file to anchor a grandfathered-use argument if the rules change [6]. The practical defense is to stay informed: Township Board and Planning Commission meetings are open to the public, and the meeting calendar is posted on the township website [12].
Where LTRs Are Allowed (Zoning)
Long-term rentals are permitted wherever the zoning ordinance allows a dwelling. Single-family and two-family homes are a use permitted by right in the R-1 district, apartments and multiple-family dwellings are permitted by right in R-2, and a single-family home is an allowed accessory use on agricultural (A) parcels [3].
Zoning regulates how land is used, not whether the occupant owns or rents, so leasing a legal dwelling on a term of a month or longer needs no special zoning approval [3]. Verify a parcel’s district on the zoning map [4]. For a commercial or industrial parcel, confirm with the Township Supervisor that the residential dwelling use is permitted or is a legal pre-existing use before counting on rental income [2].
The township’s master ordinance is a scanned image PDF, and a searchable OCR copy is hosted by its contracted building department [3].
Is There a Rental Registration or Inspection Program?
No. Charleston Township has no long-term rental registration, no rental license, no rental inspection program, and no township rental fees [6].
This is common for small rural Michigan townships. Unlike Kalamazoo and Portage, which run landlord licensing and recurring inspection cycles, Charleston leaves rental housing to state law and to its anti-blight ordinance [6][7]. A landlord’s only routine township touchpoints are property taxes and blight compliance.
Permits, Inspections & Property Standards
Any building, electrical, mechanical, or plumbing work on a rental requires a permit through Associated Government Services (AGS), Charleston Township’s contracted building department, not the township office or the county [5].
AGS reviews plans, issues permits, performs the required inspections, and issues Certificates of Occupancy; it also handles land divisions and combinations [5]. The Township Office, open Tuesday and Thursday, handles zoning questions, sewer applications, and street-number assignments [5][2]. There is no rental-specific inspection, but any renovation triggers an AGS inspection, and the anti-blight ordinance sets the baseline exterior-condition standard for all property [7]. Current permit and application fees are posted with the township’s permits and forms materials [5].
Tenant Rights & Eviction Resources
Michigan state law, not any Charleston Township ordinance, governs leases, security deposits, repairs, and evictions here [11].
Michigan landlord-tenant relationships run on state statute, including the limits on security deposits and the summary-proceedings process a landlord must follow to evict a tenant. The Michigan Legislature publishes a free booklet, A Practical Guide for Tenants and Landlords, that walks through leases, deposits, repairs, and the eviction timeline [11]. Because the township has adopted no rental ordinance, there are no extra local tenant protections or landlord obligations beyond state law and the anti-blight ordinance [6][7].
Official Resources
Property Tax Treatment
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Looking at a rental property in Charleston Township?
Charleston Township's light regulatory footprint can work in an investor's favor, but the gray area around short-term rentals, the private-septic limits on occupancy, and the AGS permit process all shape whether a property pencils out. I help buyers and landlords across Kalamazoo County weigh exactly these local factors.
Sources & Downloads
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1U.S. Census / Census Reporter – Charleston Township Profile https://censusreporter.org/profiles/06000US2607714720-charleston-township-kalamazoo-county-mi/Population (about 1,900, 2020 census) and land areaVerified: 2026-05-21
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2Charleston Township – Township Board https://www.charlestontownship.org/boards___commissions/township_board/index.phpOffice contacts, hours, hall address; Supervisor administers zoningVerified: 2026-05-21
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3Charleston Township – Zoning Ordinance (searchable copy) https://agsbuildingdept.weebly.com/uploads/1/3/7/8/137806799/charlston_compleat_ordinace_pdf_searchable.pdfFull zoning ordinance: districts, permitted uses, dwelling-unit definition. Township master copy is a scanned image PDF.Verified: 2026-05-21
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4Charleston Township – Zoning Map https://agsbuildingdept.weebly.com/uploads/1/3/7/8/137806799/zoning_map_updated.pdfZoning district boundariesVerified: 2026-05-21
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5Charleston Township – Permits & Forms https://www.charlestontownship.org/property/index.phpBuilding permits issued via AGS; township handles zoning, sewer, street numbers; posts the fee scheduleVerified: 2026-05-21
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6AGS Building Department – Charleston Township Ordinance Index https://agsbuildingdept.weebly.com/charleston-township.htmlLists zoning and anti-blight ordinances only; confirms no STR or rental-registration ordinance existsVerified: 2026-05-21
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7Charleston Township – Anti-Blight Ordinance https://agsbuildingdept.weebly.com/uploads/1/3/7/8/137806799/anti-blightord.pdfProperty-condition standards applying to all parcelsVerified: 2026-05-21
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8Kalamazoo County – On-Site Sewage Treatment https://www.kalcounty.gov/295/Sewage-TreatmentCounty septic permitting for rural propertiesVerified: 2026-05-21
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9Kalamazoo County – Sanitary Code (PDF) https://www.kalcounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/840/Kalamazoo-County-Sanitary-Code-PDFOn-site sewage rules; septic sizing ties to bedroom count and occupancyVerified: 2026-05-21
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10Kalamazoo County – Charleston Township https://www.kalcounty.gov/680/CharlestonCounty reference page: township location in eastern Kalamazoo CountyVerified: 2026-05-21
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11Michigan Legislature – A Practical Guide for Tenants & Landlords https://www.legislature.mi.gov/publications/tenantlandlord.pdfStatewide landlord-tenant law, leases, eviction processVerified: 2026-05-21
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12Charleston Township – Planning Commission https://www.charlestontownship.org/boards___commissions/planning_commission/index.phpBody that would originate any future rental or STR ordinanceVerified: 2026-05-21