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

Development Code Section 3.5.2.E.3 sets the core occupancy rule for homestays: no more than 6 adult overnight guests are allowed on each lot per day. The cap is measured per lot, so it applies the same way whether the homestay covers an entire dwelling or just a rented portion of one. Notably, Section 3.5.2.E.2 incorporates most of the Home Occupation standards into homestays, listing subsections 1, 2, and 4 through 12, 14 and 15, but it skips subsection 3, which is the rule limiting ordinary home businesses to 3 customers on site at once. That omission is deliberate: homestays follow their own guest-count standard in Section 3.5.2.E.3 instead of the smaller home-occupation customer cap, reflecting that overnight lodging guests are a different category from daytime home-business customers. The 6-guest limit works alongside the ownership, permanent-residence and Accessory Use Permit requirements elsewhere in Section 3.5.2.E, all enforced by the Zoning Administrator in Neighborhood Development Services.