An unhosted stay is a homestay during which the resident is not present overnight on the parcel, and is only permitted on 5+ acre Rural Areas parcels, for up to 7 days a month and a total of 45 days a year. An unhosted stay is not a full-time vacation rental. All homestay parcels must be a primary residence. A parcel is defined by the boundaries of your recorded plat, which is found in a deed book. Find your parcel boundaries in the County GIS. The Responsible Agent must be reachable nearby at all times during unhosted stays. The owner must track unhosted stays and be able to provide this list to the Zoning Administrator upon request.

The Responsible Agent is a person who will respond to any complaints during a homestay. The responsible agent must be within 30 miles of the Homestay at all times during a Homestay use and must attempt in good faith to resolve the complaints within 60 minutes of being contacted. A Responsible Agent is always required. The Responsible Agent may be the owner, but that means that the owner may not leave town during a rental.

The owner of the parcel on which a Homestay is located must reside on the parcel for a minimum of 180 days in a calendar year and be present during Homestay rentals. If your property is a vacation home where you do not live for 180 days per year, you may not rent it out.  A resident manager approved through Special Exception may fulfill this occupancy requirement.

Special Exceptions are only available for regulations that specify they are eligible for a Special Exception. If the regulation is marked with an asterisk in the chart above, and you wish to apply for a Special Exception, contact Zoning staff at the information listed above to start the Special Exception process.

Before you schedule your Fire and Building Safety Inspection, ensure your property meets the following requirements:

• The address of the property must be posted at the driveway so emergency vehicles can find the property. If more than two structures are located on the property, the addresses must also be located on the individual structures. Each structure used for a homestay must have its own unique address.
• A 2A:10BC fire extinguisher must be installed in the kitchen area, preferably on a wall and not in a cabinet.
• An emergency evacuation floor plan must be displayed. The plan must show directions to the exterior and the 911 address of the property in each habitable room. This is similar to the diagram you see on the back of your hotel room door showing where to go in an emergency.
• Each bedroom must have an operable emergency escape and rescue opening. Windows must be operable and not painted shut and in compliance with the Building Code.
• No extension cords may be used in lieu of permeant wiring. Power strips are allowed if sized properly and contain overcurrent protection built into the strip.
• Access to the electrical panel box must be available to the tenant at all times.
• Interconnected smoke alarms must be installed in each sleeping room, outside of each sleeping room in the vicinity of the bedrooms, on each additional story of the dwelling, including basements and habitable attics, as required by the Building Code.

No, your guests cannot park on the street.

Your guests may celebrate parties, special events, or weddings only with the guests who are staying at the homestay. Anyone not staying at the homestay may not attend.

No, rentals for over 30 days are not homestays, and do not need a Homestay Clearance. You may need a business license.

Bring your homestay into compliance by following the steps under "Bring My Homestay Into Compliance" above.

If you are present on the parcel during your homestay rental, there is no limit on the number of days.

If you are not present on the parcel (unhosted stays), you are limited to 7 days per month and 45 days per year. Unhosted stays are only permitted on 5+ acre rural area parcels. 

Recreational vehicles and tents are not permitted to be rented out as homestays.

If your yurt has a County-issued Certificate of Occupancy, it may be rented out as a homestay.

No. You must live on the parcel with the homestay. You may be able to combine the parcels through a Boundary Line Adjustment. Contact Zoning staff for additional details.

You may continue your use in the way it was approved. If you want to intensify your use (e.g. do whole house rentals in the RA on a 5+ acre parcel) you will need to submit a new application. You will be automatically added to the annual registry. After 2019, you will need to have an annual safety inspection and renew your Homestay on the Short Term Rentals Registry. Albemarle County Zoning staff will contact you when it is time to schedule your annual safety inspection and renew your homestay on the Registry.

Yes, Homestays are considered businesses subject to all local tax regulations.

Yes, any person or entity offering short term lodging is required to register as a business and pay transient occupancy and sales taxes along with any business licensing fees and personal property taxes required.

It is a trust tax imposed on the occupancy of all rooms or spaces offered as guest rooms and rented out for continuous occupancy for fewer than thirty (30) consecutive days. Of the revenue collected, 60% goes to tourism and 40% goes to the general fund.

All hotels, motels, boarding houses, travel campgrounds, homestays, and other facilities offering guest rooms must collect and remit to the County a tax of 5% on each rented room or space.

Yes, you are retroactively liable for all taxes that you have failed to file/pay to Albemarle County since starting your business.

Business license registration & tax based on annual gross receipts as follows:

• ($0-25,000) – No fee or tax
• (Over $25,000 and less than $100,000) - $50.00
• ($100,000+) - rate of 0.0036

Business Tangible Personal Property based on all property used for business purposes, including but not limited to all furniture, decorations, and appliances in the rented rooms.

Sales taxes of 5.3% collected from customers and remitted to the Virginia Department of Taxation in Richmond.

If you also offer prepared food and beverages, you must collect Food and Beverage taxes from your customers on behalf of the County.

To register your business, review the “Where to Start” checklist on the left, and visit the Finance Department, Tax Assessments division with all applicable documents. Once registered, you can easily file and pay your transient occupancy tax collections and your personal property taxes online.