ALEXANDRIA SHORT TERM RENTAL RESTRICTIONS

Does Alexandria Virginia Restrict Short Term Rentals?

Yes. While Alexandria City doesn’t ban short term rentals, there are rules that predated the 2025 update:

• Short-term rental registry. This was est. in 2018.
• Insurance registration requires hosts to provide emergency contact information and proof of liability insurance.
• Fire safety requirements for hosts include maintainence of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and providing a fire extinguisher.
• Booking records must be kept for two years.

What Are The 2025 Rules?

Permitting

In addition to the existing registry and insurance requirements, a short-term residential permit is now required for properties utilized as STRs for more than 10 days annually.

Violators receiving two or more zoning citations will be unable to apply for an STR permit for a period of one year. STR permits may be revoked with 30 days notice due to an incomplete application, false or misleading information, three or more violations of the same city law during the permit year, five or more violations of separate city law sections in the same permit year, or a single violation of city law due to a short-term rental operation with a health and safety risk to guests or abutting property residents.

Occupancy Limits

• No more than two people per bedroom plus two additional people at all times, excluding children age 3 and under.
• Limit of 10 people permitted in any short-term rental.
• Occupancy limits apply to gatherings, as well.
• In commercial, office and mixed-use zones, events exceeding the specified occupancy limit are required to be permitted as an accessory to short-term rental use. Rules for event hours, delivery and pickup hours, outdoor food and materials storage, and trash removal apply.

Parking

STRs must provide 0.75 parking spaces per bedroom in non-transit areas and 0.25 spaces in transit areas. Requirements for STRs in an enhanced transit area zone:

• 1 parking space for 1 bedroom
• 2 parking spaces for 2-3 bedrooms
• 3 parking spaces for 4 bedrooms
• 4 parking spaces for 5 bedrooms

Rentals outside the transit area are not required to provide spaces for one bedroom rentals, but are required to provide a space for two to five bedroom short term rentals.

Required parking in enhanced transit areas not provided on site may be provided off-site through a parking arrangement approved by the city’s planning and zoning director.

Accessory Living Units

The 120-day annual limit for accessory dwelling unit (ADU) short-term rental use.

A property’s main dwelling and accessory dwelling unit may not be used as a short-term rental listing silmultaneously.

Guest Rules

STR hosts must provide a “Good Neighbor Guide” to guests informing them of parking rules and locations, occupancy limits, 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. ‘quiet hours,’ including a request to keep noise levels to a minimum at all times, trash & pet waste disposal and local transit information.

Hosts or property managers must be aailable at all times to address complaints. A one hour response time is required for ‘quality of life’ violations like occupancy, large parties or events and/or noise ordinance violations.

Neighbor Notifications

Operators must notify owners of abutting properties of their intent to create a short-term rental.

Noise and Trash Violations

City code already defines and regulates ‘noise.’ Noise violations confirmed by a noise inspector may count toward the three or more zoning citations that can lead the city to revoke a short-term rental permit.

Trash and recycling are defined and regulated by city code. 

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Why Were New Rules Added?

Do Most NVA Cities and Counties Restrict Short Term Rentals?

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