Fairfax County residents will be able to legally rent out their homes on a short-term basis through systems like Airbnb and Vacation Rentals By Owner (VRBO).
The county government adopted new rules that will go into effect Oct. 1 requiring owners of properties to apply for a $200, 2-year permit and pay transient occupancy taxes.
There are at least 1,500 active online listings for short-term rentals in Fairfax County, but the county’s zoning rules did not permit homeowners to rent their homes for short-term stays. Although the listings were illegal, the county has not received many complaints from residents.
Under the new rules, homeowners will only be allowed to rent their homes for 60 nights per year with no more than 6 guests at a time under a single contract. Parking must be made available and homes must be available for inspection by county officials.
Based on the current active short-term rental listings in Fairfax County, officials estimate new tax revenues of more than $428,000 per year. By state law, a portion of that revenue must be spent to support tourism initiatives and regional transportation.
Fairfax County Supervisor Sharon Bulova said the new regulations “aimed to strike the right balance between allowing short-term rentals to operate in Fairfax County under certain circumstances, while protecting the character and quiet enjoyment of residential neighborhoods in Fairfax County.”
Earlier this year, the City of Alexandria started collecting “hotel” taxes through Airbnb’s booking system. Alexandria was the first locality to start collecting taxes this way in April.
In June, the first check from Airbnb arrived, and city officials received 3x more than they expected. The amount of the check led to speculation that many Airbnb hosts had been underreporting income or not remitting taxes to the city at all.
Read more about Alexandria’s system here.
