Arlington County Board Approves Proposal to Regulate Short-Term Rentals

• December 10, 2016

by UrbanTurf Staff

An Airbnb rental in Arlington

The Arlington County Board approved zoning regulations for short-term rentals on Saturday by creating a new home occupation called “accessory homestay,” thus regulating services like Airbnb for the first time in the county.

Here are some of the key provisions for the “accessory homestay” designation:

• The home must be the host’s primary residence.
• There is no longer a cap on the number of home sharing units in multi-family buildings.
• Hosts are limited to renting out their home or a room in their home to 185 days per year.

In January, the Board will consider allowing the accessory homestay designation in units where either the owner or a renter live. It will also consider removing the limitation on the number of contracts per night.

“Like other jurisdictions, Arlington is adapting to the rise of the sharing economy. The extensive input we received about short-term rentals throughout this engagement process was essential to help shape new regulations,” said County Board Chair Libby Garvey. “Indeed, we have re-advertised a small section of the new code in order to be able to vote next month to include some of the very good suggestions we heard.”

The new regulations will go into effect on December 31, 2016. As of that day, short-term rental hosts in Arlington will be required to obtain an accessory homestay permit.

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• Proposed Legislation Would Heavily Regulate Airbnb Rentals in DC
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This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/arlington_county_board_approves_proposal_to_regulate_short-term_rentals/11969