California Short-Term Rental Rules, City by City (Verified July 2026)
Program and regulatory figures verified July 24, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
Buying a short-term rental in the wrong California jurisdiction is a six-figure mistake. This is the city-by-city status table we check before writing a single loan: dated, sourced, and re-verified when the councils move.
The 2026 status table
| Jurisdiction | Status (as of July 25, 2026) | Key rules |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | Primary-residence only; whole-home capped at 120 days/yr | Live in unit ≥6 months/yr; $89/yr registration; extended-permit path; non-owner-occupant whole-home not allowed |
| San Diego | Legal, tiered (STRO); whole-home capped | Tier 3 whole-home capped at 1% of housing units; Mission Beach Tier 4 capped at 30%, lottery-allocated; waitlist closed since Nov 2022 |
| San Francisco | Primary-residence only; investor whole-home not viable | Live ≥275 nights/yr; 90-night cap on unhosted whole-unit stays; $450 biennial registration; $500,000 liability insurance |
| Palm Springs | Legal but neighborhood-capped | 20% cap on VR certificates per neighborhood (then waitlist); 26 rental contracts per year; $5,000 fine + permanent ineligibility for operating without a permit |
| Big Bear Lake | Permit-capped (city); county rules outside zip 92315 | Permit availability is capped; confirm the city's current count directly; unincorporated valley falls under San Bernardino County rules |
| Lake Tahoe | County-capped, largely allocated | Placer County capped at 3,900 (nearing full); El Dorado County capped at 900 (fully allocated) with a 500-foot buffer blocking new permits near existing ones |
| Joshua Tree | Legal with county permit | San Bernardino County Mountain and Desert regions; $1,144 new / $550 renewal; max 12 occupants; up to 2 permits per person |
| Santa Barbara | Restrictive ordinance proposed, not confirmed adopted | Planning Commission advanced an owner-present model in March 2026; coastal-zone track needs Coastal Commission approval; confirm current status |
| Anaheim | Effectively closed to new entrants | Only roughly 277 pre-2016 grandfathered permits may operate; no new licenses since 2019 |
Statuses verified July 25, 2026 against city and county sources; several regimes are capped, waitlisted, or in active litigation or rewrite. Confirm current rules with the jurisdiction before purchase.
There is no statewide short-term-rental law
California has never passed a statewide STR preemption statute, and a 2026 preemption bill did not advance, so every rule in the table above is local. What did change in 2026 is enforcement plumbing: SB 346 now requires the platforms to share host data with local governments, which makes operating outside a city's permit rules much harder to hide. For an investor, the takeaway is that California needs a city-by-city map, not a state answer, and that the map is drifting toward tighter enforcement, not looser. We re-check a legislative tracker before every deploy touching this page.
The coastal cities are built to exclude investors
Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Anaheim each close the door on non-owner-occupant whole-home rentals in their own way. LA requires you to live in the unit at least six months a year and caps whole-home stays at 120 days a year. San Francisco requires you to live there at least 275 nights a year and caps unhosted whole-unit rentals at 90 nights. Anaheim issues no new licenses at all: only roughly 277 grandfathered permits from before the 2016 phase-out may operate, a number that only shrinks as licenses lapse. For a new-entrant investor, these are not markets to plan a short-term-rental business in; the honest path is long-term or mid-term rental underwriting.
The capped-but-open markets
The tourist markets that still welcome investors run on caps and waitlists. Palm Springs stops issuing new vacation-rental certificates once a neighborhood hits 20% and imposes a limit of 26 rental contracts per calendar year, with a $5,000 fine and permanent ineligibility for operating without a permit. The Tahoe basin is nearly full: Placer County caps permits at 3,900 and El Dorado County at 900, and El Dorado's 500-foot buffer rule blocks a new permit near an already-permitted property. Joshua Tree is the friendliest of the group: short-term rentals are legal in San Bernardino County's designated Mountain and Desert regions with a county permit ($1,144 new, $550 renewal), subject to occupancy and per-person permit caps. Financing for any of these: California STR loans; the city deep dives: Los Angeles and San Diego.
No pressure, no obligation, and no salesy follow-up: a 20-minute call with our team, real numbers, and a straight answer on whether the deal pencils.
Frequently asked questions
Did California ban short-term rentals statewide?
No. There is no statewide short-term-rental law, so legality is set entirely by each city and county. The range runs from effectively closed (Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Francisco) to capped but open (San Diego, Palm Springs, the Tahoe basin) to open with a county permit (Joshua Tree). SB 346 (2026) newly requires platforms to share host data with local governments.
Can I buy in San Francisco and run it as a short-term rental?
Only as your primary residence. San Francisco requires you to live in the unit at least 275 nights a year, and caps unhosted whole-unit rentals at 90 nights a year. Registration runs $450 biennially with $500,000 of liability insurance required. It is not a viable model for a non-owner-occupant investor; plan on long-term or mid-term rental instead.
What are Palm Springs's vacation-rental rules for investors?
Palm Springs caps vacation-rental certificates at 20% of a neighborhood, then starts a waitlist, and limits each permit to 26 rental contracts per calendar year. Operating without a permit carries a $5,000 fine plus permanent ineligibility for any future city STR permit. Confirm neighborhood capacity before you buy for short-term use.
Are short-term rental permits available in Big Bear Lake or Lake Tahoe?
Both are capped. Big Bear Lake's city permits are capped, so confirm the current count directly with the city before buying; property outside zip 92315 falls under San Bernardino County rules instead. In Tahoe, Placer County caps permits at 3,900 (nearing full) and El Dorado County at 900 (fully allocated), with a 500-foot buffer rule blocking new permits near existing ones.
Can I run a short-term rental in Joshua Tree?
Yes, in San Bernardino County's designated Mountain and Desert regions, which cover Joshua Tree. You need a county short-term-rental permit ($1,144 new, $550 renewal), and the rules cap occupancy at 12 and limit permits to 2 per person and generally 1 per parcel under 2 acres. Confirm there is no active moratorium with the county before you buy.
Is Airbnb legal in Santa Barbara or Anaheim?
Both are poor bets for a new investor. Santa Barbara's Planning Commission advanced a restrictive owner-present ordinance in March 2026, but it is not confirmed as adopted law, and the coastal-zone portion needs Coastal Commission approval. Anaheim issues no new licenses: only roughly 277 grandfathered permits from before 2016 may operate. Confirm current status before relying on either.
Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content, not a loan commitment and not legal or tax advice. California rent-cap percentages, city and county STR rules, tax figures, and litigation status change; verify current requirements with the city or county, your CPA, or a California real estate attorney before you buy. Loans are subject to buyer and property qualification.