Alexandria, VA Short-Term Rentals: Occupancy Limits (2026)

The zoning ordinance's short-term rental regulations set a hard numeric ceiling on how many people can occupy a licensed rental at any one time. Under Sec. 7-1403(A), the base formula is two people per legal bedroom (as defined by the Uniform Statewide Building Code) plus two additional people, with children three and under excluded from the count. Rentals with five or more bedrooms are capped at ten total occupants regardless of bedroom count, and an accessory dwelling unit operated as a short-term rental is capped at three occupants.

The city backstops the number with a posting requirement: under Sec. 7-1403(G), operators or their registered local agent must give arriving guests, at least 24 hours before arrival, written notice of the maximum occupancy and a statement that exceeding it is prohibited at all times, and must post that notice conspicuously inside the unit as part of the mandatory Good Neighbor Guide. Residential-zone rentals are barred outright from hosting any gathering, luncheon, banquet, party, wedding, meeting or fundraiser that would exceed the posted maximum occupancy, at all times, under Sec.

7-1403(B)(1); commercial and mixed-use zone rentals may host limited events but must still work within the occupancy cap. This section was enacted by Ordinance No. 5575, adopted March 15, 2025, as the city's rewrite of its short-term rental regulations, and it is enforced through the same permit the operator must hold to rent the unit at all.