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Virginia county rules

Nelson County, VA vacation rental rules and taxes

Nelson County, home to Wintergreen and the Route 151 corridor, is a top Blue Ridge rental market. Whole-house “vacation houses” are allowed by right in agricultural zones and Wintergreen’s planned community, and need a special use permit in most residential zones. Every host needs a county business license. Stays pay 5.3% sales tax plus a 7% lodging tax. A zoning rewrite now in draft would add a registry and new standards.

Checked against official sources November 7, 2026
Market
About 750 Airbnb listings
Wintergreen 316 (plus 196 tracked as Wintergreen Resort), Afton 155, Roseland 84, Nellysford 78, Lovingston 18, Tyro 18 (AirROI).Source
Zoning
By right in A-1 and Wintergreen’s RPC
Special use permit in R-2, and in R-1 unless most of the parcel is zoned A-1.Source
Business license
Required, renewed by March 1
Big houses
Site plan over 5 bedrooms
Vacation houses with more than five bedrooms fall under the site development plan article.Source
Taxes
5.3% sales + 7% lodging tax
Pending
Draft zoning rewrite (August 2026)
Would add annual registration, a management plan, and a two-rental-per-lot limit.Source

Nelson is rewriting its zoning and subdivision ordinances. The August 19, 2026 draft would split rentals into homestays, hosted stays, and unhosted stays (unhosted needing a special use permit in some districts), require annual registration by July 1 with a management plan and proof of septic maintenance, cap bedrooms at the septic permit, allow two rentals per lot, and revoke registration after three violations in a year. It is not adopted. The planning director has said legally existing rentals would stay valid as nonconforming uses unless they stop for two years.

In 2025 the board chair floated capping rentals at the number already operating, with a waiting list; the Planning Commission did not take that up.

What to do

  1. Check your zoning

    A whole-house vacation rental is allowed by right in the A-1 agricultural district and in the single-family sector of a Residential Planned Community like Wintergreen. In R-1 it’s by right only if most of the parcel is zoned A-1; otherwise, and in R-2, you need a special use permit. A house with more than five bedrooms falls under the county’s site development plan rules. Confirm with Planning and Zoning, and check VDOT entrance rules for a new driveway.Source

  2. Get a business license and file the attestation

    Get a Nelson County business license from the Commissioner of the Revenue (first floor of the courthouse in Lovingston) and renew it by March 1 each year. Every host also files the Accommodations Provider Annual Attestation by March 1.Source

    Nelson County short-term rentals →

  3. Taxes on each stay

    Stays under 90 days owe 5.3% sales tax, and stays under 30 days also owe the local transient occupancy tax. Airbnb collects both on its bookings. If guests pay you directly, file sales tax with Virginia Tax. Nelson’s transient occupancy tax is 7% (since July 1, 2024). If you book only through Airbnb, VRBO, or Evolve, you can skip the monthly forms; direct bookings are reported to the Commissioner of the Revenue every month.Source

  4. At Wintergreen, register with the WPOA

    Since January 2023, every Wintergreen home or condo rented for less than 30 days must be registered with the Wintergreen Property Owners Association, give guests the community rules in writing and on site, and provide a 24/7 complaint contact.Source

    WPOA rental registration →

Sources

A plain-language summary to help you prepare, not legal advice. Rules and fees change; confirm with the office before you apply. Spot something out of date? Email hello@licensedrental.com.