Roanoke, VA Garage & Yard Sales: Frequency, Duration & Permits (2026)

2-429 of the Zoning Ordinance regulates yard and garage sales as a temporary use under Table 429-1. The table sets the sale's maximum duration at two consecutive calendar days, restricted to daylight hours, and caps frequency at two sales per year with at least three months between them. Table 429-1 also confirms no zoning permit is required for a residential yard or garage sale, unlike almost every other temporary use it lists (auctions, outdoor retail sales, portable storage containers, and public events all require a zoning permit).

Subsection (g) defines a 'yard or garage sale' as a public sale at a dwelling of personal items belonging to the residents of that dwelling, and it is limited to any residential district or dwelling unit. The subsection imposes two substantive restrictions beyond timing: items purchased elsewhere expressly for resale at the sale are prohibited, meaning a resident cannot restock inventory to run a recurring retail operation disguised as a yard sale, and goods intended for sale cannot be stored or displayed in the front or side yard of the dwelling except on the actual day of the sale, so pre-staging tables of merchandise the week before is not allowed. 2-571.