All Forum Posts by: Sonja Quinn

@Nicole A.

I should have clarified........In addition to the laws I previously shared, the city of Virginia Beach gave me paperwork saying that "A business license is required for every person engaged in keeping a boardinghouse, lodging house, etc where the number of rooms available for boarders or lodgers is five (5) or less per city code section 18-64."

@Nicole A. I went to the court in my city of Virginia Beach.  They informed me that I would have to register as a business related to rental or management of property for the lodging tax aspect.  Maybe I was misinformed.  Also we have to obtain local permission to offer the property for rental.  I just wanted to make some extra money by renting out my property and had no idea all these requirements would come into play.

@Nicole A.   03/24/17 Governor: Approved by Governor-Chapter 741 (effective 7/1/17)

SB 1578Short-term rental of property; registration of persons offering property for rental.

Short-term rental of property. Authorizes a locality to adopt an ordinance requiring the registration of persons offering property for short-term rental. The bill defines "short-term rental" as the provision of a room or space suitable for sleeping or lodging for less than 30 consecutive days in exchange for a charge for the occupancy. Persons and entities already licensed or registered related to the rental or management of property by the Department of Health, the Real Estate Board, the Virginia Real Estate Time-Share Act, or a locality would not be required to register. The bill authorizes localities to impose penalties not to exceed $500 per violation on persons who violate the registry ordinance. The bill amends the Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Act to clarify that certain property rented on a short-term basis is considered a bed and breakfast establishment for purposes of ABC licensing and that the exception from ABC licensing for serving alcoholic beverages to guests in a residence does not apply if the guest is a short-term lessee of the residence. This bill incorporates SB 1579

SB 1579Short-term rental; affirms rights of localities to regulate rental of property.

Short-term rental of property. Affirms the rights of localities to regulate the short-term rental of property, defined as the provision of space suitable for sleeping or lodging for fewer than 30 days. If a locality allows short-term rentals, the locality shall require that the person offering property for rental notify adjacent landowners in writing, obtain local permission to offer the property for rental, and carry a minimum of $500,000 of commercial premises liability insurance. If a locality prohibits short-term rentals, any person or entity, including an online hosting platform, that advertises the availability of a short-term rental in the locality shall be subject to a $10,000 fine per violation. This bill was incorporated into SB 1578.

I have been using AirBnB for a few months and have really enjoyed it!  Now Virginia has passed some extreme laws about writting letters to neighbors, asking the government for permission, registering as a business, etc.    I am kind of freaking out!  If you do AirBnB in Virginia, how are you coping?  Is it still worth it?  HELP