Community members have another chance to weigh in how the City of Charlottesville regulates short-term stays — also known as “Airbnbs” and “Vrbos” — in the future. 

The city is in the process of revising its short-term stay ordinance, and will hold a public meeting about it on Wednesday, Dec. 3, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at CitySpace.

Logo reads "Short & Important"

Short-term rentals are a type of temporary lodging that have become a popular alternative to traditional hotels. They’re furnished, residential properties rented out for a period of time, usually 30 days or less, by the owner of that property. 

The city started regulating short-term stays in 2015. Before that, they were unregulated.

Over the past few months, city staff have been working on revising the decade-old ordinance. They’ve been studying other localities’ regulations, and in June, conducted an online survey to better understand how the community feels about Charlottesville’s.

More than 500 people filled out the survey; the vast majority of them (453) are city homeowners. Most of the respondents said they had concerns about short-term rentals in Charlottesville, largely centered around how short-term rentals are affecting the availability of long-term rentals and increased housing costs throughout the city. A smaller portion of respondents (109) said they have no concerns about short-term rentals.

See the full survey results on the city website.

During the Dec. 3 meeting, city staff will give a brief presentation at 5:30 p.m., then open it up to discussion and community input.

The feedback received during the meeting will inform the amended ordinance that will be brought to the Planning Commission, and later City Council, for consideration sometime next year, according to the city’s website about the short-term stay study. The Planning Commission will have the chance to comment on the draft ordinance first, before recommending it — or not — to City Council. Once the ordinance gets to City Council, there will be a public hearing and another chance for community input.

Read more about the history of short-term rentals in the city, as well as the economic benefits and drawbacks of them, in this report from June.

Take action

Have your say on how Airbnbs and Vrbos are regulated in Charlottesville

Attend a public meeting to give feedback on how the City of Charlottesville should regulate short-term rentals. The meeting will take place Wednesday, Dec. 3 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in CitySpace, located at 100 5th St. NE, Charlottesville. The entrance is at the corner of 5th St. NE and the Downtown Mall, near the visible elevator shaft. Register for the meeting here and read more information from the city here.

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I'm Charlottesville Tomorrow's neighborhoods reporter. I’ve never met a stranger and love to listen, so, get in touch with me here. If you’re not already subscribed to our free newsletter, you can do that here, and we’ll let you know when there’s a fresh story for you to read. I’m looking forward to getting to know more of you.