Virginia Beach, VA Short-Term Rentals: Night Caps (2026)

Unlike some Virginia localities that cap rentals at 90 or 180 nights per year, Virginia Beach does not impose a citywide annual night cap on permitted STRs. Instead, the city uses the Conditional Use Permit process itself to manage rental intensity. Under Virginia Code Section 15.2-983, localities are authorized to regulate STRs, and the code defines a short-term rental as a dwelling rented for fewer than 30 consecutive days at a time. Any single stay of 30 days or more falls outside the STR definition and into the landlord-tenant framework. Within Virginia Beach, CUPs typically allow year-round operation, but the City Council can and does attach conditions to individual CUPs limiting the number of rental events per week or requiring minimum stay lengths, particularly in neighborhoods like the North End or Croatan where residents have raised concentration concerns. In the Sandbridge Special Service District, short-term rentals are a historical by-right use that predates the newer CUP system, and no special nightly cap applies. Operators should review the conditions on their specific CUP because booking in excess of those conditions is a CUP violation even when state law would permit it.