LicensedRental

Wythe County, Virginia

Wytheville, VA vacation rental requirements

Wytheville’s draft development ordinance (October 2024) would treat short-term rentals as “homestays” with a yearly town permit, a business license, a certificate of occupancy, a parking space per rented room, and a six-adult limit; in residential districts they’d need a conditional use permit and up to three guest rooms. Ask the town whether it was adopted. Stays pay 5.3% sales tax plus the town’s 8% lodging tax.

Checked against official sources November 7, 2026

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Town rules
Draft homestay rules
In the October 2024 draft ordinance; we couldn’t confirm adoption.Source
Residential districts (draft)
Conditional use permit
Up to 3 guest rooms; one homestay per host.Source
Guests (draft)
6 adults maximum
Stays of at least 24 hours.Source
Taxes
5.3% sales + 8% lodging tax

These rules come from a draft. Confirm what the town adopted before you buy.

Your licensing checklist

In order: the state, the county, then the town.

Commonwealth of Virginia

  1. Know who pays the tax

    When a platform like Airbnb books the stay, it collects and pays the state sales tax and the local lodging tax for you. If guests pay you directly, register with Virginia Tax for sales tax and with your county or city for the transient occupancy tax.Source

    Register a business with Virginia Tax →

  2. Register with your locality if it has a registry

    Many counties and cities require short-term rental hosts to register every year. Registration is a simple filing (your name, each address, and the owner’s permission if you lease the home), but listing an unregistered rental can cost up to $500 per violation.Source

  3. Check your zoning

    Counties and cities keep their power to decide where short-term rentals are allowed and whether you need a zoning or use permit. HOA and condo rules still apply on top. Pick your area for the local rules.Source

Wythe County, Virginia

  1. Then your town or area

    Towns set their own zoning, and some levy their own lodging tax. Pick your area.

  2. 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. Outside the towns, Wythe County’s lodging tax is 5% (Virginia Tax chart). Ask the Commissioner of the Revenue how direct bookings file it.Source

  3. Watch the new zoning ordinance

    The draft would sort the county into agricultural, residential, commercial, and industrial districts. Ask the county whether it will treat short-term rentals as a residential use before it’s adopted.Source

Town of Wytheville

  1. Ask whether the new ordinance is in force

    Under the draft, you’d get a yearly homestay permit from the Zoning Administrator, a town business license, and a lodging tax account with the Treasurer, and certify the home’s exits and alarms. The town could inspect.Source

  2. Plan for the draft standards

    One off-street parking space (9 by 18 feet) per rented room, rooms of at least 120 square feet, an emergency escape window or door in every sleeping room, a land line phone, house rules with the noise limits posted, and your name and phone posted at the outside entrance. You answer calls 24/7 during stays.Source

  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. Wytheville’s lodging tax is 8% (Virginia Tax chart). Under the draft, homestays register with the Town Treasurer and pay it to the town.Source

Inspection checklist

What the inspector looks for, from Town of Wytheville’s published checklist.

  • Smoke and CO detectors in each rental room
  • Emergency escape opening in each sleeping roomAt least 5.0 square feet at grade or 5.7 above, sill no higher than 44 inches, at least 24 inches high and 20 wide.Source
  • Certificate of occupancy for the use

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.