Albemarle County, VA Short-Term Rentals: Primary-Residence-Only Rule (2026)

Under Sec. 48(b), a homestay may only be operated as an accessory use to a primary residential use and cannot be layered onto an accessory apartment. The residency test is strict: at least one individual owner must reside on the parcel a minimum of 180 days per calendar year, though the Board of Supervisors may authorize a property-managing agent to satisfy that requirement by special exception. Before taking a single booking, the parcel owner must obtain a zoning clearance from the Zoning Administrator under Sec.

5, submitting a site sketch showing guest rooms, parking, and outdoor lighting, plus two forms of residency verification such as a driver's license or voter registration card presented in person. On parcels under five acres in the Rural Areas district, or any residential or planned development parcel, only one homestay use and a maximum of two guest rooms are allowed, expandable to five rooms only by special exception; larger Rural Areas parcels of five acres or more with two dwellings may host up to two homestays with up to five guest rooms each.

Owners approved for unhosted stays may be absent for up to seven rental days a month and 45 rental days a year, and must log every absence for the Zoning Administrator. Every homestay must designate a responsible agent who lives within 30 miles, is reachable at all times, and must respond to and attempt to resolve a complaint within 60 minutes of being contacted. Restaurants and special events open to anyone besides homestay guests are flatly prohibited as accessory uses.