Roanoke, VA Short-Term Rentals: Extended Home Share (2026)
Key Facts
- Maximum stay length
- 14 consecutive days
- Rental basis allowed
- Daily or weekly only
- Applies to
- Bed and breakfast and homestay
- Governing section
- City Code § 36.2-405(b)(5), (c)(3), (d)(3)
Summary
A Roanoke bed and breakfast or homestay can only rent rooms on a daily or weekly basis, and no single guest stay may run longer than 14 days. The cap under Section 36.2-405 keeps home-share and bed and breakfast uses distinct from month-to-month rentals or accessory apartments.
(5)Rooms shall be rented on a daily or weekly basis. Stays shall not exceed fourteen (14) days....(3)Rooms shall be rented only on a daily or weekly basis. Stays shall not exceed fourteen (14) days.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 94 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Roanoke's zoning code treats short-term, home-share style lodging as fundamentally different from a long-term rental or an accessory dwelling, and it draws that line with a duration rule rather than a use-intensity rule. ' Subsection (c)(3) repeats the same daily-or-weekly, 14-day ceiling for bed and breakfasts operating in the MX and CN districts. ' Because the code caps every qualifying stay at two weeks, an operator cannot use a bed and breakfast or homestay permit to house an extended-stay guest for a month or longer; anything beyond 14 consecutive days falls outside the use as zoned and would need to be evaluated under the City's residential rental or accessory-dwelling rules instead, which carry different owner-occupancy and permitting requirements.
The duration limit runs alongside, but is legally separate from, the guest-occupancy caps in subsections (b)(4) and (d)(2) and the host-presence requirement in subsection (d)(4), so a booking can comply with the headcount and still violate the ordinance if the stay itself runs past 14 days.
Violations & Fines
Renting past the 14-day cap is a zoning violation under Section 36.2-571. The Zoning Administrator can issue written notice ordering the booking practice corrected, and continuing to book stays longer than 14 days after notice is a misdemeanor under Virginia Code Section 15.2-2286.A.5, with each day of the violation charged as a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I book a Roanoke homestay for a full month?
Does the 14-day cap apply to bed and breakfasts in commercial districts too?
What happens if a guest stays longer than 14 days at a Roanoke bed and breakfast?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Roanoke
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