Albemarle County, VA Short-Term Rentals: Night Caps (2026)

Albemarle County's default homestay rule requires the owner or an approved resident manager to be on the property overnight during every stay. 48(c)(2)(vii) then sets the numeric limits on how much unhosted time is allowed. The owner of a homestay parcel approved for unhosted stays may be absent for up to seven homestay rental days in any calendar month and up to 45 homestay rental days in any calendar year, a cap that works out to roughly one week away per month and a hard annual ceiling well under half the year.

The same subsection imposes a recordkeeping duty rather than leaving compliance to the honor system: the owner must maintain a log of all homestay uses, including the date of each rental for which the owner is absent, and must produce that log to the Zoning Administrator within five business days of a request. 48(c)(1)(iv) with no unhosted alternative. Because the unhosted allowance depends on the five-acre-or-more Rural Areas threshold, a homestay operator who subdivides or otherwise reduces the qualifying acreage loses eligibility for unhosted stays under this provision.