Where short-term rentals are allowed in Virginia Beach, VA
In Virginia Beach, the address decides whether a short-term rental can get a permit. Homes in the Sandbridge Special Service District are eligible, and new rentals in the Oceanfront Resort overlay need a conditional use permit first. Renting rooms in the home you live in, while you stay there, needs no zoning permit.[5]
Every rule below links to the official source it comes from, verified October 1, 2026.
Can you rent short term in Virginia Beach?
Your zoning decides
What you apply for: Short-term rental zoning permit
- Seasonal homes
- 2,856
- Housing units
- 191,294
- Residents
- 456,349
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 ACS 5-year estimates
- City ruleAllowed by zone
- City fee$500
- Tax on each stay15%
- Seasonal homes15 per 1,000
Virginia Beach short-term rental rules
Virginia Beach issues one zoning permit per short-term rental address. It costs $500 and is renewed each year. Register first with the Commissioner of the Revenue and attach the receipt to the application. The file also needs a life safety inspection report, a structural safety report and a parking plan. Plan one off-street space per bedroom. Proof of at least $1 million in liability insurance is required, and several free policies offered by rental platforms do not qualify. In the Oceanfront Resort overlay, a conditional use permit comes first, renewed every five years.[5]
What Virginia Beach asks of you
The city names three kinds of property eligible for a permit. They are grandfathered rentals, homes in the Sandbridge Special Service District and homes in the Oceanfront Resort STR Overlay District.[5]
The zoning code's overlay article states that the General Assembly directed short-term rentals to be permitted in the Sandbridge Special Service District. Neighborhoods that request an overlay qualify too.[7]
A neighborhood can petition City Council for an overlay with signatures from 75% of its property owners. Only one signature counts per property.[7]
A rental registered with the Commissioner of the Revenue before July 1, 2018, with its lodging taxes paid, is grandfathered.[5]
Expanding a grandfathered dwelling by more than 25% or 1,000 square feet, whichever is less, revokes that status.[5]
The zoning permit covers one address, costs $500 and expires one year after it is issued.[5]
A home share needs no zoning permit: rooms rented for under 30 days in your principal residence, while you occupy it. It is registered with the Commissioner of the Revenue instead.[5]
You register with the Commissioner of the Revenue every year, then start renting only after the Planning Department gives final approval.[8]
A life safety inspection report comes with the first application and is good for five years. A structural safety report is renewed every three years.[5]
A responsible person must be reachable and able to address problems at the rental within 30 minutes. Section 241.2 requires no visit to the site.[6]
Each rental posts a four-square-foot sign on the building, readable from the street, with the short-term rental hotline number and the owner's contact details.[6]
Between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., the rental may hold three people per bedroom. Outdoor amplified sound is banned from 10:00 p.m. to 10:00 a.m.[6]
A rental may have two rental contracts at most in any seven consecutive days. Accessory structures may not be rented short term.[6]
In an overlay district the overnight limit drops to two people per bedroom, not counting children under 16. One contract per seven consecutive days is allowed.[7]
In an overlay district, that person must also be able to be physically present at the rental within one hour.[7]
After notice and a hearing, City Council may revoke the conditional use permit of a rental that breaks the rules. Grandfathered status can be revoked the same way.[6]
What Virginia asks wherever you host
These rules apply at this address whatever the city decides.
Virginia hosts need no state license. State law lets each city, county or town keep an annual registry, with a penalty of up to $500 per violation for an unregistered rental.[1]
Every stay owes Virginia sales tax on the total charge. When a guest books through a platform, the platform reports that tax on the entire transaction.[3]
The sales tax rate follows the locality. It runs from 5.3% across most of Virginia to 7% in James City County, Williamsburg and York County.[4]
A platform that facilitates the booking also collects the local transient occupancy tax. Each month it sends the locality the property addresses and gross receipts of the stays it handled.[2]
What a guest pays on top of your nightly rate in Virginia Beach
Each layer is set by a different authority, and not all of them are collected by the platform.
| Layer | Rate | Remitted to |
|---|---|---|
| Virginia sales tax[4] | 6% | The state revenue department |
| Virginia Beach lodging tax[9] | 9% | The city |
| Total on a taxable stay | 15% |
The city adds a fixed room tax of $2 per night. In the Sandbridge Special Service District its percentage is 10.5%, for 16.5% with sales tax. City taxes are paid each month, by the 20th.[9]
Airbnb taxes for hostsWhat the census counts
How much of Virginia Beach is already a second home
The Census Bureau counts 2,856 of Virginia Beach's 191,294 homes as vacant for seasonal, recreational or occasional use. That is 15 out of every 1,000. It ranks Virginia Beach 4th of the 5 Virginia cities on this site for the share of its housing stock kept for part-year use.
- Rank in the state
- 4th of 5
- Share of housing
- 15 per 1,000
- Median home value
- $382,500
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 ACS 5-year estimates, tables B25004, B25001, B01003 and B25077.
Nearby and comparable
Where Virginia Beach sits among its neighbors
Colonial Beach, VA
Permit required
526 seasonal homes, 210 per 1,000 housing units.
Colonial Beach short-term rental rulesRichmond, VA
Permit required
457 seasonal homes, 4 per 1,000 housing units.
Richmond short-term rental rulesCape Charles, VA
Permit required
398 seasonal homes, 336 per 1,000 housing units.
Cape Charles short-term rental rulesChincoteague, VA
No city ordinance
2,452 seasonal homes, 540 per 1,000 housing units.
Chincoteague short-term rental rulesFAQ
Virginia Beach short-term rental questions
How much is a short-term rental permit in Virginia Beach?
Can my neighborhood become a short-term rental overlay?
What taxes do guests pay on a Virginia Beach rental?
How many guests can stay overnight in a Virginia Beach rental?
Sources
- Code of Virginia § 15.2-983, Creation of registry for short-term rental of property, Virginia Legislative Information System, read on October 1, 2026
- Code of Virginia § 58.1-3826, Scope of transient occupancy tax, Virginia Legislative Information System, read on October 1, 2026
- Retail Sales Tax on Accommodations, Virginia Department of Taxation, read on October 1, 2026
- Retail Sales and Use Tax, rates by locality, Virginia Department of Taxation, read on October 1, 2026
- Short-Term Rentals, City of Virginia Beach, Planning and Community Development, read on October 1, 2026
- City Zoning Ordinance, Section 241.2, Short-term rental, City of Virginia Beach, read on October 1, 2026
- City Zoning Ordinance, Article 23, Short-term rental overlay districts, City of Virginia Beach, read on October 1, 2026
- Short Term Rentals, City of Virginia Beach, Commissioner of the Revenue, read on October 1, 2026
- Transient Occupancy Taxes, City of Virginia Beach, Commissioner of the Revenue, read on October 1, 2026
This page is not legal advice. It summarizes the official sources listed on this page as they read on October 1, 2026. Rules can change after that date, so check with the issuing office before you apply or publish a listing.
Before you list
Free tools for new hosts
Short-term rental agreement generator
Parties, dates, rent, deposit checked against your state's cap, and the house rules clauses you enforce. A signed-ready PDF for direct and Vrbo bookings.
Airbnb host fee calculator
What Airbnb takes on a booking under the 15.5% host-only fee or the old split fee, what the guest pays on top, and the payout that reaches you.
Airbnb profit calculator
Nightly rate, occupancy, Airbnb fee, management, mortgage, taxes and depreciation. You get cash flow, cash-on-cash return and what is left after the IRS.
Airbnb cleaning checklist generator
Build a printable turnover checklist by room, with restock, photos to take and a place for the cleaner to sign. Free PDF, no sign-up.