Short-Term Rental Laws in Virginia Beach, Virginia

Virginia Beach restricts non-owner-occupied STRs to the STR Overlay District — primarily the Oceanfront Resort area (Sandbridge, the central oceanfront blocks east of Pacific Avenue), select North End neighborhoods, and specific commercial/resort overlays. Outside the STR Overlay, only Owner-Occupied / Home-Sharing STRs (operator's primary residence) are permitted — the operator must reside in the unit at least 185 days per year. The 2021 ordinance (Section 241.2 of the City Zoning Ordinance) is among the more zoning-restrictive frameworks among major Virginia jurisdictions.

The STR Overlay District map is the binding gate — verify any acquisition target falls within the overlay before assuming it can operate as a non-owner-occupied STR. The overlay primarily covers: Sandbridge (the southern beach community), the Oceanfront Resort area east of Pacific Ave between 1st and 42nd Streets, and select North End / Cavalier Shores blocks. Outside the overlay, R-5R / R-7.5 / R-10 / R-15 / R-20 single-family residential zones permit only Home-Sharing (owner-occupied). Sandbridge specifically has its own subset of rules and is the densest legal investor-STR market in the city.

Operators must hold a short-term rental permit before listing. See the official permit portal.

Virginia Beach Planning + Code Compliance administer the STR program through the STR Conditional Use Permit (CUP) process — properties seeking a non-owner-occupied STR in the overlay must apply for a CUP with City Council approval (a multi-month process). Inside Sandbridge and the established Oceanfront Resort blocks the CUP is largely procedural; in newer overlay extensions it can be contested. Annual permit renewal + TOT filing with the Virginia Beach Commissioner of Revenue. Operating without a permit: civil fines + stop-rental order. The Sandbridge Civic League and the Virginia Beach Hotel/Motel Association are active in monitoring compliance.

Combined short-term lodging tax in Virginia Beach is approximately 14.000% of gross nightly revenue (state sales + state TRT + local TRT + applicable resort/city options).

Virginia State sales tax 5.3% + Virginia Beach Transient Occupancy Tax 8% + flat per-room fees — combined ~14.0% on transient lodging

Verify the current combined rate via the Utah State Tax Commission before remitting — rates drift quarterly.