Virginia Beach, VA Short-Term Rentals: Permit Requirements (2026)

Virginia Beach is an independent city under Va. Code §15.2-2280, which authorizes localities to regulate building uses, and §15.2-983, which empowers localities to register short-term rentals. The City's STR program is codified in Appendix A (Zoning Ordinance), Article 2, §241.2, with overlay-district mapping in Article 23 (Short-Term Rental Overlay Districts). Under §241.2, every STR operator must obtain an annual STR Zoning Permit from the Zoning Administrator at 2403 Courthouse Drive. Application materials include: a sworn statement by the owner; a Life Safety Inspection Report (valid five years, with a life-safety attestation form thereafter); a structural safety inspection report (initial, then every three years); a parking plan demonstrating one 9-foot-by-18-foot off-street space per bedroom; proof of liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 from carriers acceptable to the City; and proof of registration with the Commissioner of the Revenue for transient occupancy tax. The annual permit fee is $500 per address and applications are filed through the Accela Citizen Access portal. Operationally, §241.2 caps rental contracts at no more than two during any consecutive seven-day period and prohibits events with more than 50 people without a separate special-events permit. New STRs in the Oceanfront Resort STR Overlay District (mapped in Article 23) must first obtain a Conditional Use Permit from City Council before the annual zoning permit is issued; all STR CUPs expire five years from the date of adoption. By contrast, properties in the Sandbridge Special Service District remain permitted by-right and need only the annual zoning permit and Commissioner of the Revenue registration. Properties registered before July 1, 2018 with transient occupancy taxes paid may qualify for grandfathered status, but expansion exceeding 25% or 1,000 square feet revokes that status. The 2024 amendments tightened life-safety inspection requirements while lifting the prior moratorium on new STR operators in the resort area.