California Short-Term Rental Laws (2026): State Rules, City Limits and Taxes

Short-term rentals are legal in California as a matter of state law, and the state has almost nothing to say about them: there is no statewide license, no state lodging tax and no preemption statute. Your city or county decides whether you can operate, under what permit, for how many nights and at what transient occupancy tax rate. What Sacramento has added since 2024 is a layer of disclosure and data rules that sit on top of whatever your city does.

This guide is for California hosts and managers who want the state picture before drilling into a city ordinance: what the Legislature has actually enacted, where the Coastal Commission overrides a city, how the major markets differ, and which taxes attach to a stay. It belongs to our state-by-state roundup. Reviewed October 13, 2026. Not legal advice; verify with the agency named before acting.

Key facts

• No state license, registry or lodging tax exists; permits, caps and transient occupancy tax (TOT) are set by roughly 500 cities and counties. Los Angeles charges 14 percent TOT, San Diego 10.5 percent, Santa Barbara 12 percent.
• SB 346 (Chapter 751, Statutes of 2025) took effect January 1, 2026. Once a city or county adopts an enabling ordinance, booking platforms must report each rental's physical address, with parcel number and listing URL on request, as often as quarterly.
• SB 594 (Chapter 456, Statutes of 2026), chaptered September 25, 2026, extends the same data-sharing powers to Indian tribes.
• AB 2202 (Chapter 510, Statutes of 2024) requires a listing to disclose, before booking, any charge or penalty for skipping end-of-stay cleaning tasks, with civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation; SB 478's all-in pricing rule has applied to lodging ads since July 1, 2024.
• Inside the coastal zone a city cannot restrict rentals on its own authority: Coastal Commission staff told Pacifica in a July 30, 2026 report to drop its residency requirement and 60-night cap, after approving Del Mar's and Encinitas' rules in February 2026.

Statewide rules

Start with what does not exist. California never passed a statewide registration bill, so a host's legal status is entirely a function of local code. A "state Airbnb law" in a search result is usually one of three things: a platform data law, a consumer disclosure law or the Coastal Act.

SB 346 is the data law. It does nothing by itself; the trigger is a local ordinance invoking it. Where one passes, platforms must hand the city the address of every property that took a booking during the reporting period, plus the assessor's parcel number and listing URL on request, on a schedule as frequent as quarterly or the TOT remittance cycle. Cities may audit the platforms at their own expense and attach enhanced fines consistent with Government Code Section 53069.4. In practice, an unpermitted listing in a city with an SB 346 ordinance is no longer invisible to code enforcement. SB 594 (2026) extended the same authority to tribal governments.

Two consumer laws reach the listing itself. SB 478 requires the advertised rate for lodging to include every mandatory fee, cleaning fee included, with taxes and government charges the only permitted exclusions. AB 2202 goes further for short-term rentals: if you charge for unstripped beds or undone dishes, or threaten a worse guest rating for it, the listing must say so before the reservation and the guest must acknowledge the notice. The reported operative date is July 1, 2025.

Then there is the coast. Under the Coastal Act, a change in the intensity of use of land is "development," and a certified Local Coastal Program cannot be amended until the Commission certifies the amendment. A rental ban, a residency requirement or a night cap inside the coastal zone therefore takes effect only when the Commission says so, and the Commission has treated short-term rentals as a form of lower-cost visitor access it is charged to protect. We covered the mechanics in Coastal Commission staff reject Pacifica's key STR rules.

Private covenants are a fourth layer. California courts have read "residential use" covenants both ways depending on the declaration's wording, and HOA amendments carry their own procedural rules. The published record is summarized in what courts have actually held about short-term rentals.

Major cities and counties

Three models recur: big cities protect housing with a primary-residence rule and a night cap, resort cities ration permits by lottery or neighborhood percentage, and wealthy enclaves try to ban outright and end up in court. Coastal cities do whichever they choose and then wait for the Commission.

Taxes

California levies no state tax on lodging. The tax that matters is transient occupancy tax, a local tax on stays of 30 days or fewer in most cities (some use 31), with rates commonly between 8 and 15 percent of rent. Many destinations add a tourism business improvement district assessment or a tourism marketing fee on the same base, and a few counties layer their own TOT on unincorporated areas.

Airbnb collects and remits TOT under agreements with a list of cities and counties that includes Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego; many cities are not on it, and Vrbo's list differs. A direct booking is yours to tax in every city: you register for a TOT certificate, collect at the city's rate, file on the city's schedule (monthly or quarterly) and keep the records the city can audit. A January 2026 appellate decision upheld a Los Angeles TOT assessment against an operator who missed the 45-day window to request a hearing, which is a reminder that the procedural clock runs from the notice, not from when you notice. Hosts who run several cities keep a rate per property, with each city's base and exemptions; Haven's tax and accounting features hold state, county, city and district rates per property with cited rate suggestions so direct bookings carry the right line items.

One more wrinkle: under SB 478 the TOT can be shown separately but the cleaning fee cannot, so price your direct site with the fee folded into the nightly figure.

What changed in 2025 and 2026

• July 1, 2025 (reported operative date): AB 2202's cleaning-task disclosure rule began applying to listings; penalties reach $10,000 per violation.
• October 13, 2025: SB 346 chaptered as Chapter 751; effective January 1, 2026.
• January 2026: Court of Appeal affirmed Los Angeles' TOT assessment against a short-term rental operator on exhaustion grounds.
• February 2026: The Coastal Commission approved Del Mar's primary-residence rule and 129-permit cap and Encinitas' 2.5 percent citywide cap.
• July 30, 2026: Commission staff recommended denial of Pacifica's ordinance as submitted; final action is due by April 7, 2027.
• August 31, 2026: Hosts and owners sued Beverly Hills in federal court over its 12-month lease floor.
• September 25, 2026: SB 594 chaptered as Chapter 456, extending SB 346 powers to tribes.
• October 6, 2026: Santa Barbara's council voted 7-0 to introduce its two ordinances; adoption was set for October 27, 2026, with licensing to open January 11, 2027.

How to stay compliant

1. Read your city's ordinance first, then the county's if you are unincorporated, and confirm whether the parcel is in the coastal zone.
2. Get the local permit or registration before listing and put the number on every listing, including your direct booking page; several cities require platforms to verify it.
3. Register for a TOT certificate even if Airbnb remits for you, because a direct booking or a Vrbo stay may not be covered, and file zero returns when required.
4. Rewrite listing prices to show the all-in nightly rate and add an AB 2202 cleaning-task notice if you charge for unfinished chores.
5. Track nights if your city caps them; Los Angeles and San Francisco count unhosted nights, and the platforms report them.
6. Assume your address is visible: under an SB 346 ordinance the platform reports it whether or not you are permitted.
7. Check the CC&Rs and any rental amendment before buying, and check the HOA's enforcement history.
8. Carry liability coverage; many city programs require proof of it at application.

FAQ

Is Airbnb legal in California?

Yes under state law, which neither licenses nor restricts short-term rentals. Whether a particular home can be rented is a city or county question: Los Angeles and San Francisco limit rentals to a host's primary residence, San Diego and Palm Springs cap permits, and Beverly Hills has banned leases under 12 months.

Do I need a state license to host in California?

No. There is no statewide license or registry. You need the local permit or registration your city requires and a local TOT certificate; both are enforced at the city level, increasingly with platform verification.

What taxes do I pay on a California short-term rental?

Local transient occupancy tax, typically 8 to 15 percent, plus any tourism assessment the city levies on lodging. There is no state lodging tax. Airbnb and Vrbo remit TOT in some cities and not others; direct bookings are always the host's to collect and file.

Can my city ban short-term rentals in California?

Outside the coastal zone, yes, subject to constitutional challenges like the one pending against Beverly Hills. Inside the coastal zone, a ban or a restrictive cap is an amendment to the Local Coastal Program and does not take effect until the Coastal Commission certifies it.

What changed in 2025 and 2026?

SB 346's platform address reporting became available to cities on January 1, 2026; AB 2202's cleaning-task disclosure began in mid-2025; the Coastal Commission approved Del Mar and Encinitas and pushed back on Pacifica; and Santa Barbara and Beverly Hills moved in opposite directions.

Sources

• California Legislative Information via LegiScan — SB 346 (2025) chaptered text (accessed October 2026)
• California Legislative Information via LegiScan — SB 594 (2026) chaptered text (accessed October 2026)
• Senate Judiciary Committee — SB 346 analysis (accessed October 2026)
• CalMatters Digital Democracy — AB 2202 (2023–2024) bill status (accessed October 2026)
• Best Best & Krieger — New state law helps cities get short-term rental information from Airbnb, VRBO and other online platforms (accessed October 2026)
• Avalara MyLodgeTax — California requires short-term rental hosts to be transparent about guest cleaning chores (accessed October 2026)
• ABC7 — New California laws in effect July 1: hidden fee ban (accessed October 2026)
• Bloomberg Tax — California appeal court affirms Los Angeles' transient tax assessment against short-term rental operator (accessed October 2026)
• Lodgify — California Airbnb laws (2026) (accessed October 2026)
• BNBCalc — Palm Springs short-term rental regulations: 2026 guide (accessed October 2026)