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

2-405 conditions Roanoke's bed and breakfast use on ongoing owner residency rather than allowing an absentee landlord to run one. ' That establishment must also be sited on a lot where the one-dwelling building is the principal use, whether the guest rooms sit in the main structure, an accessory structure, or both, and any exterior changes must preserve the residential character of the building. In the MX Mixed Use and CN Commercial-Neighborhood districts, subsection (c)(1) relaxes the residency requirement slightly by allowing 'the owner or on-site manager' to satisfy it, recognizing that a larger bed and breakfast with up to 10 rentable bedrooms in those districts may be run day-to-day by a manager rather than the titled owner, so long as that manager actually lives on the property.

Either way, the code ties the bed and breakfast use to a person physically residing on-site, which is what separates it from a short-term rental of an entire home with no resident host. The companion homestay use carries its own, narrower on-site condition, requiring the owner or leaseholder to occupy the property specifically during guest stays under subsection (d)(4).