Roanoke County, VA Short-Term Rentals: Short-Term Rental Permits (2026)

55, added by Ord. No. 020921-8 on February 9, 2021, requires a property owner to obtain a zoning permit under § 30-9 before any short-term rental use begins. Under (A)1, the application must include full parcel data (tax map number, zoning district, address, magisterial district), the applicant's own contact information, and separately the contact information for whoever is designated to resolve neighbor complaints if that is not the applicant. Any change to those contacts must be reported to the county within 30 days under (A)2.

The permit is tied to the current owner: under (A)3 it automatically expires the moment the property changes hands, so a buyer of a short-term-rental property must apply for a brand-new permit rather than inherit the seller's. Beyond the base permit, the district regulations add an extra hurdle in the two most common single-family districts: under (B)1, a special use permit is required for any short-term rental on an R-1 or R-2 lot smaller than five acres, heard by the Planning Commission and approved by the Board of Supervisors under § 30-19; only parcels of five acres or more operate by right in those districts.

This makes most in-town short-term rentals, typically on standard suburban lots well under five acres, subject to a public-hearing special use permit rather than administrative sign-off. The Zoning Administrator in the Department of Community Development reviews and issues the zoning permit and, where needed, processes the special use permit application.