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

The host-presence rule sits in Roanoke City Code § 36.2-405(d)(4), part of the Zoning chapter (Chapter 36.2). It says flatly that the owner shall occupy the property during guest stays. That is an owner requirement, not a manager or tenant allowance: the person on title has to be on the premises while paying guests are there. Section 36.2-405(a) applies these supplemental regulations to bed and breakfast, homestay, and short-term rental establishments permitted either as of right or by special exception.

The host-presence rule is only one of four homestay standards in subsection (d). Exterior changes to the building must maintain its residential character. The homestay may have no more than two bedrooms for guests and may accommodate no more than four total guests, and no more than one homestay is allowed per property. Rooms may be rented only on a daily or weekly basis, not to exceed thirty days.

Roanoke separates homestays from the other lodging uses in its definitions. A homestay is an establishment that offers for compensation a portion of any dwelling unit for overnight stays to guests, and it must not meet the definition of a bed and breakfast. A short-term rental is defined separately as an accommodation for transient guests where, in exchange for compensation, a dwelling is provided for lodging for less than thirty days. The bed and breakfast standards in subsections (b) and (c) carry their own residency tests: in residential districts the owner of the dwelling shall reside in it, and in the MX and CN districts the owner or on-site manager shall reside on the property. Only the homestay standard in subsection (d)(4) uses the owner-occupies-during-stays wording.

In the zoning use tables, an S marks a use permitted only by special exception, and homestay carries that S in at least one of the district tables, with 36.2-405 as the cross-referenced standard. A special exception is decided by the Board of Zoning Appeals after a public hearing under Section 36.2-560. The Board weighs neighborhood compatibility, water and sewer demand, traffic, flood potential, conformance with the chapter, and the Comprehensive Plan, and it may attach conditions, including a limited duration. An approved use must begin within twelve months or the permit is void, and a special exception also becomes void if the use is discontinued for two consecutive years.