Renting Out Part of a House
ADUs, basement apartments, duplexes and short-term rentals: what the City allows today and what changes in 2027.
Can you rent out part of a Downtown Fredericksburg house?
Possibly, but confirm the rule for your lot first. The City's rules on accessory dwelling units are changing: in August 2026 City staff told the Planning Commission that ADU amendments would come forward this fall, and a state law makes ADUs a permitted use in single-family districts from 1 July 2027. Until the City adopts its update, ask the City's planning office what a specific house allows.
Sources: City Planning Commission minutes (12 Aug 2026); Code of Virginia §15.2-2292.4 (Oct 2026); City of Fredericksburg, Lodging & Occupancy Tax (Oct 2026).
What should you check before renting out part of a Downtown house?
Whether the unit is legal today. Ask the City's planning office what the zoning on that lot allows, whether an existing apartment was ever approved, and what changes when the City adopts its ADU update.
A condo or HOA can forbid a rental unit even where the City allows one, so read those documents too.
Sources: City Planning Commission minutes (12 Aug 2026); Code of Virginia §15.2-2292.4 (Oct 2026).
What about Airbnb?
Short stays such as Airbnb pay the City's lodging tax, and the operator registers with the City before charging guests.
- Lodging tax
- 8% of the total paid for the stay, since 1 July 2023City lodging tax page
- Register
- Before you start charging guestsCity lodging tax page
- Zoning
- Ask the planning office whether your district allows itCity
Sources: City of Fredericksburg, Lodging & Occupancy Tax (Oct 2026).
Does renting change anything else?
Yes: renting all or part of a pre-1978 house brings your own renovation work under EPA's lead-safe rule, and you owe tenants a lead disclosure and the EPA pamphlet before they sign.
Sources: U.S. EPA, Renovation, Repair and Painting (Oct 2026); U.S. EPA, Lead disclosure rule (Oct 2026).
What's the trade-off?
Some older Downtown houses have a second unit from decades past, and not every one was approved. Counting on rental income means confirming the unit with the City first, while the City's ADU rules are still being rewritten.
Sources: City Planning Commission minutes (12 Aug 2026).
Quick answers
Can I build a backyard cottage in Fredericksburg?
Do Airbnb stays pay tax in Fredericksburg?
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