With all that’s going on in the New River Valley, short term rentals in Christiansburg have become very popular!
Maybe you have thought about using AirBnB to rent out your place for big game weekends or graduation; it can be a fantastic way to make a substantial amount of additional scratch that can be used to supplement your income, pay for vacations, or for some extra fun money. We have friends that rent for a handful of weekends a year and use the money to pay for a Country Club membership to have access to their awesome pool in the summer.
The Christiansburg Homestay Ordinance
But - gone are the wild west days of anything goes rentals in Christiansburg! Following the lead of the town of Blacksburg, in early 2019 Christiansburg passed the ‘Homestay Ordinance’ which now regulates what is allowed for short term rentals in town. Read my similar article here about what you need to know about short term rentals in Blacksburg. If you are thinking of doing a short term rental, or purchasing a property in Christiansburg with the idea of generating AirBnB income from it, you need to understand what’s in this regulation. You can find all the rules at the town website here, but they are a little bit confusing, so here are:
5 things you need to know about short term rentals in Christiansburg:
You may only rent your PRIMARY residence
This means that you can only AirBnB all or part of a property that is your primary residence at least 6 months out of the year. This is bad for investors who would like to purchase properties for short term rental income, but good for Christiansburg homeowners who will now be the only legally qualified people to do short terms rentals. Primary is a key word here - it means that, even if you have a legal accessory apartment, it will not qualify for AirBnB because it is considered a ‘secondary’ dwelling.
There is no limit to the number of nights you can rent.
This is the big difference between Christiansburg and Blacksburg’s much more restrictive law. In Christiansburg, as long as you are renting out your primary residence, which means the place you call home for more than 6 months of the year, there is no limit on the number of nights you an rent.
What this means is that you can offer a private room/suite in your house for rent every day of the year, and, if you so desired, you could offer your entire home for rent for 5.99 months a year. While homes in Christiansburg will not command the nightly rate that homes in Blacksburg will, overall, Christiansburg could be a much more lucrative market because of their less restrictive laws. This, combined with Christiansburg’s more attractive home prices, make it a prime candidate for anyone interested in ‘house hacking’ (purchasing a home with income potential to offset all or most of your mortgage expenses).
You can rent to 2 families or 8 people max
While there is no time restriction for short term rentals in Christiansburg, there is an occupancy restriction. You are only allowed to do short term rentals for a maximum of two families at a time or 8 people, whichever number is greater. So, if you have 2 families of 5, you are fine, but not more than 8 unrelated people total for something like a wedding weekend or a football college reunion trip.
You will need to apply with the town, register with the county, and schedule a safety inspection
Before you host your first rental, you’ll need to go to the town site and fill out and submit a homestay application. The town has been very good about getting these processed and approved quickly. The homestay application has to be re-submitted yearly! The town of Christiansburg also requires you to schedule and pay a small fee for a safety inspection. The items in the safety inspection are outlined in the application but are just basic things like working smoke detectors in all the bedrooms, carbon monoxide detectors, and paths of egress. You also need to provide a map of fire exits - so hop on Canva and get to work!
You will also have to register your AirBnB as a business with Montgomery County. You will not need to worry about this ahead of time. When you sign up for AirBnB in the county and host your first stay, the county will send you directions on what to do.
Keep 14 nights in mind
14 is a magic number for occasional short term renters. As of the time of this article, the federal government does not require you to pay tax on your short term rentals if you have rented for less than 14 nights in a calendar year. This can be great news for C-burg residents who are just wanting to rent for an occasional weekend! Keep in mind - you will still need to pay town and county taxes on any stays you host.
Conclusion: Is a short term rental worth the trouble in Christiansburg?
The short answer is: yes. Christiansburg is a prime spot for short term rentals and, with its more lax regulations, the town is obviously trying to make itself more appealing to people interested in short term rentals than Blacksburg. Without some regulation, more investors would swoop in to make student rentals as well as potential family homes short term rentals. While that would be good for investors, it wouldn’t be great for the town as a whole.
There are two groups of people that the homestay regulation is great news for: current Christiansburg homeowners who want to rent a few weekends a year and people who want their primary home to be in Christiansburg, but might feel that they are priced out of the market.
If you are in the second category - someone who wants to live in Christiansburg but feel like you can’t afford it - the Christiansburg Homestay Ordinance might be your golden ticket. Maybe you could afford a place in Christiansburg by ‘House Hacking’ - finding a way (like AirBnB) to cover a portion of your mortgage. AirBnB’ing your primary residence could be a way to live in Christiansburg with a monthly payment more in line with what you would find in Radford, or out in the county.
If you have any questions about AirBnB in Christiansburg or what it might look like to find a home here that you could AirBnB, I’d love to talk to you! Reach out to me here with questions or to schedule a time to meet!
What other questions do you have about the Christiansburg Homestay Ordinance?
*All content offered in this post is for information purposes only - it is not and not intended to be legal advice!