STR rules · verified 1mo ago
Short-term rental rules in Alexandria, VA
City of Alexandria VA (independent VA city, NOT part of any county) regulates STRs under the new Short-Term Residential Rental Permit regime adopted by City Council March 15, 2025 and effective Sept 1, 2025. Any property used as an STR for MORE THAN 10 DAYS in a calendar year requires a Short-Term Residential Rental Permit from the Department of Planning & Zoning (administration transferred from Dept. of Finance in Sept 2025). Permit fees: $350 annually for owner-UNOCCUPIED rentals; $100 annually for owner-OCCUPIED rentals — a 3.5x cost differential favoring owner-occupied. Application via APEX online portal. Penalties for non-compliance: initial $200 citation, then $500 every 10 days thereafter until permit application submitted. Permit can be denied or revoked. Virginia SB 544 (2021) preempts cities from requiring special-exception/special-use permits for owner-occupied primary-residence STRs in ordinances enacted after Dec 31, 2023 — Alexandria's two-tier fee structure is the workaround.
What's behind the sign-in
- Registration fees — initial + annual renewal cost, per permit type
- Permit caps + waitlists — exact cap values, current waitlist counts
- Owner-occupancy rules — days/year requirement, permit-class splits
- Zoning carve-outs — which districts allow / disallow STR
- Tax stack — TOT, hotel, county + state layers
- Stay limits — min/max nightly, max nights/year
- Operational requirements — parking, insurance, fire inspection, neighbor notice
- Penalties — per-night fines, revocation thresholds
- City-specific gotchas — HOA carve-outs, pending legislation, recent court rulings
- Refresh on demand — re-run the agentic pipeline against the city's current ordinance
Frequently asked
Are short-term rentals legal in Alexandria, VA?
Alexandria is currently restricted for short-term rentals. Permitted but with material constraints — caps, owner-occupancy rules, zoning carve-outs, or active ordinance review. For the actual fees, caps, owner-occupancy rules, and city-specific gotchas, sign in.
Do I need a permit to run an Airbnb in Alexandria?
Almost certainly yes — almost every U.S. city now requires a short-term rental permit, vacation rental permit, or transient lodging permit before you can legally list. The specifics for Alexandria (cost, renewal cycle, required documents) are behind sign-in. You can also read the source ordinance directly: https://www.alexandriava.gov/zoning/short-term-residential-rentals.
What happens if I rent without a permit in Alexandria?
Most cities charge per-night fines (a few hundred to a few thousand dollars per violation), escalating to cease-and-desist letters and platform delisting on repeat. Airbnb and Vrbo now share permit-validation feeds with most major cities, so unpermitted listings get blocked at the platform level. Sign in to see the specific penalty schedule for Alexandria.
How current is this data for Alexandria?
This record was verified 1mo ago against the city's published ordinance (.gov or the city's official municipal-code publisher). Cached cities re-verify on a cadence — daily for cities under active legislation, weekly otherwise. Signed-in users can hit Refresh on any city to force a fresh pull. If you're underwriting a deal, always confirm against the city's code-enforcement office before closing.
Can my HOA or condo association ban STRs even if Alexandria allows them?
Yes. City permits authorize you under municipal law, but your HOA, condo association, or co-op board sets contractual rules that override the city for your unit. Many HOAs adopted blanket STR bans between 2018 and 2024 in response to neighbor complaints. Read the CC&Rs, bylaws, and rental addendums before you buy with an STR plan — the city saying yes does not mean your building says yes.