Do I need a permit to run a short-term rental in Virginia?

Sometimes. Virginia has no single statewide short-term rental permit in the sources we checked; the rules come from your locality, and your homeowners association or condominium documents can add more. Check three things before you list: whether your county or city has a registry, whether its zoning allows short stays at your address, and which taxes you must collect.

The state law: a local registry

The Code of Virginia defines a short-term rental as the provision of a room or space suitable or intended for occupancy for dwelling, sleeping, or lodging purposes, for a period of fewer than 30 consecutive days, in exchange for a charge for the occupancy.^[1] State law says any locality "may, by ordinance, establish a short-term rental registry and require operators within the locality to register annually."^[1]

State law keeps registration simple. The registration shall be ministerial in nature and must ask for the operator's name, the address of each property and, for a lessee or sublessee, an attestation that the owner has granted permission.^[1] A locality may charge a reasonable fee for such registration related to the actual costs of establishing and maintaining the registry.^[1] A locality that adopts a registry may set a penalty not to exceed $500 per violation for offering an unregistered property.^[1]

Some people cannot be made to register. An ordinance may not require registration of anyone who is licensed by the Real Estate Board or is a property owner who is represented by a real estate licensee,^[1] nor of those licensed or registered with the Department of Health for lodging, or with the locality for rental or management of real property.^[1] That is one reason owners hire a licensed manager; see what a vacation rental manager does.

Zoning and the "permit" you may actually need

The state law does not take away a locality's zoning power. The section adds that, except as it provides, nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit, limit, or otherwise supersede existing local authority to regulate the short-term rental of property through general land use and zoning authority.^[1] So some localities require a zoning approval or a permit, and others only a registration.

There is one state limit: no local ordinance enacted after December 31, 2023, or any subsequent amendment, shall require that a special exception, special use, or conditional use permit be obtained for the use of a residential dwelling as a short-term rental where the dwelling unit is also legally occupied by the property owner as his primary residence.^[1] A second home or an investment property does not get that protection.

Tenants have a limit in their favour: no local ordinance shall prohibit an operator from offering a property as a short-term rental solely on the basis that such operator is a lessee or sublessee, provided that the property owner has granted permission for such property's use as a short-term rental.^[1] Your lease still has to allow it.

Your association can say no

State law does not override private agreements. The section says nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede or limit contracts or agreements between or among individuals or private entities related to the use of real property, including recorded declarations and covenants, and it names condominium instruments and property owners' association declarations too.^[1] Read your covenants and bylaws before anything else.

Taxes

A short stay creates tax obligations a long-term lease does not.

State sales tax. Virginia's retail sales tax law defines accommodations to include a club, short-term rental, or any other place in which rooms, lodging, space, or accommodations are regularly furnished to transients for a consideration,^[2] and it counts the sale or charges for any accommodations furnished to transients for less than 90 continuous days as a retail sale.^[2]

Local transient occupancy tax. A county, by ordinance, may levy a transient occupancy tax on hotels, motels, boarding houses, travel campgrounds, and other facilities offering guest rooms rented out for continuous occupancy for fewer than 30 consecutive days.^[3] Rates are local. Fairfax County, for example, applies its tax to any place that offers short-term lodging as defined in Article 20, Part 3 of the Fairfax County Zoning Ordinance, and says, on the page we checked in October 2026, that the total Transient Occupancy Tax in Fairfax County is 9%.^[4] Cities and towns have their own rules, so ask your locality's tax office for the rate and the filing steps.

What to do first

Start at your county or city website, then call the zoning office and the tax office with your address. Ask the questions in the steps above and get the answers in writing. If you are hiring a manager, ask whether it registers and files taxes for you, and see how vacation rental managers charge and whether a property manager needs a licence.

Stop and call a pro if

• your locality sends a notice of violation, a penalty or a demand to stop renting, in which case a Virginia attorney is the right call
• turning part of the home into guest space means building work, a new bedroom, a kitchen, wiring or gas, which needs a licensed contractor and a building permit
• your association or condominium board says no or threatens fines, since the documents may override local approval
• you are unsure how to file or pay the sales tax or the local occupancy tax, in which case ask the tax office or an accountant

For more, see commercial answers and the commercial services directory. When you are ready for help with the rental, describe the job once and local pros quote it.