Montgomery County, VA Short-Term Rentals: Host Presence Rule (2026)

Montgomery County's zoning code draws a sharp line between two ways to rent a home to short-term guests, and whether the host is present is the line. A Bed and Breakfast Inn must have "the owner or manager" provide "full-time management of the establishment at all times when the facility is occupied by one (1) or more guests," the same standard applied to a Country Inn and a Rural Resort. A Short Term Tourist Rental is defined the opposite way: a single-family dwelling, or portion of one, rented for compensation to short-term transient guests, where the operator does not live on the same parcel or an adjacent parcel.

Because no host is required to be on site, Sec 10-41 substitutes a set of standards aimed at keeping the property accountable in the operator's absence. The rental needs a zoning permit and must meet all applicable district regulations. Occupancy is capped according to the Virginia Department of Health permit approval for the dwelling. Parking has to stay in driveways and designated areas, never in rights-of-way or yards, and there can be no visible signage or outward evidence that the property is a rental. The operator must file a property management plan with the Planning Department showing how the rental will be managed and how impacts on neighbors will be minimized, including local points of contact able to respond immediately to complaints, garbage, unruly tenants and utility issues; that plan has to be posted visibly inside the rental and provided to county staff, public safety officials, and the HOA or POA if one governs the subdivision.

The operator must also supply an emergency evacuation plan, a copy of the county's noise ordinance posted on site, working phone service, and compliance with the outdoor burning rules in chapter 4.