Short-term rentals in Alexandria, explained properly.

If required parking cannot be provided on site, up to two on-street spaces may count, and in parking permit districts up to two on-street visitor permits issued under city code section 5-8-77 may be used. Inside the enhanced transit area, remaining required parking may be provided within 500 linear feet through a signed parking agreement or another arrangement the director approves. Other parking rules come from article VIII of the Zoning Ordinance (Sec. 7-1403(C)). The definition and map of the enhanced transit area are not shown here, so check with the City which area an address is in.

Residential zones: luncheons, banquets, parties, weddings, meetings, fundraising or any other gathering exceeding the maximum number of occupants are prohibited at all times. Commercial, office, industrial and mixed-use zones: occasional events as an accessory use, limited to 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday; no loading, unloading or deliveries for events between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.; no outdoor storage of event food, drinks or materials; trash kept inside or in sealed containers; litter within 75 feet picked up at the end of events (Sec. 7-1403(B)).

The rule covers a principal dwelling and an accessory dwelling unit on the same lot (Sec. 7-1403(F)). The maximum occupancy for an accessory dwelling is three people.

The guide must list the operator or registered local agent's name and 24/7 phone number, maximum occupancy and a notice that exceeding it is prohibited, a notice that indoor and outdoor quiet hours are 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. daily, noise, waste and recycling, and pet waste notices, parking locations and rules including the maximum number of vehicles, and local transit information. It must be on the form the planning director prescribes or another approved format (Sec. 7-1403(G)). The application includes photos and a signed certification that it is posted (Sec. 7-1404(A)(11)).

If the operator or registered local agent fails to take corrective action within the hour, the operator may be held liable, including civil penalties. Other violations of city law must be resolved within the period set by city codes and ordinances (Sec. 7-1403(H)). Operators and occupants must also follow City Code title 11, chapter 5 (noise control) and title 5, chapter 1 (solid waste control); those City Code chapters haven't been reviewed yet (Sec. 7-1403(D), (E)).

The amount of the civil citation is set in section 11-200 of the City Code, which hasn't been reviewed yet (Sec. 7-1404(C)). The one-year bar applies after notice to the operator.

Grounds for revocation with 30 days' notice or denial: an incomplete application; false or misleading information in the application or during inspections; three or more violations of the same city law within the permit year; five or more violations of separate sections of city law within the permit year. The director may revoke immediately if a violation endangers the health and safety of rental occupants or occupants of abutting properties, by a notice hand-delivered or mailed (return receipt requested) that states the grounds, the date and time the revocation takes effect and the appeals procedure; on receipt, operation must cease (Sec. 7-1404(D)).

Code of Virginia § 15.2-983 defines a short-term rental as a room or space offered for dwelling, sleeping or lodging for fewer than 30 consecutive days in exchange for a charge. Any locality may, by ordinance, set up a short-term rental registry and require operators to register every year. Registration is ministerial: the operator's name, the address of each property offered, and, if the operator is a lessee or sublessee, an attestation that the owner has given permission. A locality may charge a reasonable fee tied to the cost of the registry. People licensed by the Real Estate Board (or owners represented by a real estate licensee), time-share registrants, places licensed by the Department of Health and businesses licensed by the locality for rental or property management (such as hotels and bed and breakfasts) cannot be required to register. A registry ordinance may set a penalty of up to $500 per violation for offering an unregistered property, and may bar an operator from offering a property after repeated registry violations or after violations of state and local short-term rental laws on more than three occasions. No local ordinance may prohibit an operator from offering a property solely because the operator is a lessee or sublessee, if the owner has given permission; a locality may limit a lessee or sublessee to one short-term rental. No local ordinance enacted after December 31, 2023 may require a special exception, special use or conditional use permit for a short-term rental in a dwelling that the owner also legally occupies as a primary residence. Otherwise, localities keep their general land use and zoning authority over short-term rentals, and the statute does not override recorded covenants, condominium instruments or property owners' association declarations. The section was last amended in 2024 (Acts of Assembly 2024, chapters 700 and 792).

Virginia's retail sales tax applies to accommodations, which the Retail Sales and Use Tax Act defines to include short-term rentals as well as hotels, motels, inns and similar places. A taxable retail sale includes charges for accommodations furnished to transients for less than 90 continuous days. The Department of Taxation says the tax applies to the total charge for the accommodation, and that fees charged by booking agents and other companies that handle reservations are also taxable; under the statute the room charge includes any fee retained for facilitating the sale.

The Virginia Department of Taxation lists the general sales tax rate by location: 7% in James City County, Williamsburg and York County; 6.3% in Charlotte County, Danville, Gloucester County, Halifax County, Henry County, Northampton County, Patrick County and Pittsylvania County; 6% in the Central Virginia region (Charles City, Chesterfield, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, New Kent, Powhatan and Richmond City), Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia; and 5.3% everywhere else. The page lists different rates only for groceries and for aircraft, watercraft and motor vehicles. Rates are set by the locality where the sale is made. Local lodging or transient occupancy taxes charged by cities and counties are separate and are listed on each city page.

The Department of Taxation says the tax is collected by either the accommodations provider or the accommodations intermediary, depending on how the stay was booked. Online travel companies, travel agents and similar businesses that facilitate bookings are accommodations intermediaries. When a short-term rental is booked through an intermediary, the intermediary collects the tax on the total charge, including its own fees, and reports the sales tax on the entire transaction on its Virginia sales tax return.

When a reservation is made directly with the accommodations provider, the Department of Taxation says the provider collects the tax on the total charge for the lodging and reports it on its Virginia sales tax return. Sellers whose sales go through a marketplace facilitator's platform generally do not need to collect sales tax on those sales, but may still need to register to collect it on their own sales outside the platform; registering gives you a sales tax account number and a Certificate of Registration (Form ST-4).