Alexandria, VA Short-Term Rentals: Short-Term Rental Parking Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Outside enhanced transit area
- 0.75 spaces per bedroom
- Inside enhanced transit area
- 0.25 spaces per bedroom
- On-street spaces countable
- Up to 2 spaces
- Off-site parking allowed
- Within 500 linear feet
- Visitor permit authority
- City Code Sec. 5-8-77
- Governing law
- Zoning Ordinance Sec. 7-1403(C)
Summary
Alexandria STR operators must supply 0.75 parking spaces per bedroom outside the enhanced transit area, or 0.25 per bedroom inside it. Up to two on-street spaces or on-street visitor permits can count toward that minimum under Zoning Ordinance Sec. 7-1403(C).
(C)Parking.(1)Operators shall provide a minimum of 0.75 spaces per bedroom if the short-term residential rental is located outside the enhanced transit area or 0.25 spaces per bedroom if located within the enhanced transit area.(2)If required parking cannot be provided on-site, no more than two on-street parking spaces may be counted toward the minimum parking requirement. Within parking permit districts, up to two on-street visitor permits, issued pursuant to city code section 5-8-77, may be used to meet the parking requirement.(3)Required parking which cannot be provided either on-site or on-street, may be provided within 500 linear feet of the short-term residential rental through a signed parking agreement or by another arrangement approved by the director if the short-term residential rental is located within the enhanced transit area.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 156 | Zoning: Supplement 103).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 7-1403(C) sets a bedroom-scaled parking minimum that every short-term rental permit applicant must document. 25 spaces per bedroom, reflecting the closer access to transit. If the operator cannot provide all required parking on-site, up to two on-street parking spaces may be counted toward the minimum, and in parking permit districts, up to two on-street visitor permits issued under City Code Sec. 5-8-77 may be used to satisfy the requirement instead. When parking still cannot be met on-site or on-street, and the rental is within the enhanced transit area, the operator may cover the shortfall through parking within 500 linear feet of the rental, secured by a signed parking agreement or another arrangement approved by the zoning director.
Beyond these rental-specific rules, parking must otherwise comply with article VIII of the zoning ordinance, the city's general off-street parking standards. The STR application itself, under Sec. 7-1404(A)(9), must include maps showing the parking locations used to meet the requirement, including any off-site parking and signed agreements, before the director will issue a permit.
Violations & Fines
A parking shortfall discovered after permit issuance is treated as a permit-condition violation subject to the same complaint process as occupancy and noise: unresolved violations can draw civil penalties, and accumulating three violations of the same city law or five violations of separate city laws within a permit year is grounds for the director to revoke or deny the STR permit under Sec. 7-1404(D)(1). Operating without ever obtaining the required permit, which includes the parking showing, is itself a civil citation under Sec. 11-200.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much parking does an Alexandria short-term rental need?
Can street parking count toward the STR parking requirement?
What if a host cannot fit the required parking on the property?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Alexandria
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