Short-term rental rules · Berkeley, California
Short-term rentals in Berkeley, explained properly.
The City of Berkeley, California allows short-term rentals (stays of less than 14 consecutive days) only in the host's own residence, meaning the owner's or tenant's principal place of residence. When the host is present there is no limit on days; when the host is not present the unit can be rented no more than 90 days a calendar year. Short-term rentals are not permitted in below market rate units, and an accessory dwelling unit permitted after April 3, 2017 cannot be used. Hosts need a Zoning Certificate (its number goes in every advertisement) and, where Chapter 9.04 requires one, a City Business License, plus $1 million in liability insurance, a 2 percent enforcement fee on rents, notice to adjacent neighbors, and payment of the transient occupancy tax by the host or the platform. We haven't reviewed the zoning code, the transient occupancy tax chapter or the fee schedules yet, so confirm zoning, the tax rate and fees with the City.
At a glance
What you need to know before you buy or list
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Are short-term rentals allowed? | Conditional: allowed only in the host's own residence (the owner's or tenant's principal place of residence); not in below market rate units or in accessory dwelling units permitted after April 3, 2017. We haven't reviewed the zoning use tables yet. [1] ClauseConfirming |
| City Zoning Certificate and Business License required? | Yes: a Zoning Certificate (its number must appear in every rental advertisement) and, where Chapter 9.04 requires one, a City Business License [1] ClauseConfirming |
| Must the host (owner or tenant) live at the rental property? | Yes: the rental must be the host's principal place of residence. The host need not be present for every stay, but the unit can be rented no more than 90 days a calendar year when the host is not present. [1] Clause |
| City lodging tax (transient occupancy tax) | Either the host or the hosting platform must pay the City's transient occupancy tax; the rate is not shown here [1] Clause |
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Detailed rules
The full picture, section by section
Eligibility and limits
| Is there a limit on days per year when the host is not present? | Yes: no more than 90 days per calendar year when the host is not present; unlimited days when the host is present [1] Clause Sec. 23.314.050.B sets the two cases. Host presence means the host is living in the host residence during the rental period, and on a parcel with a primary unit and authorized accessory dwelling units or accessory buildings the host counts as present if in any unit on the parcel. |
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| Are short-term rentals allowed in below market rate (BMR) units? | No: short-term rentals are not permitted in below market rate units [1] Clause BMR units are dwelling units whose rents are listed as a result of deed restrictions or agreements with public agencies, and whose tenants must be income qualified (Sec. 23.314.040.B). |
| Can a property with a no-fault eviction operate a short-term rental? | Conditional: not for five years from the date of the eviction, unless the property is a single-family home vacated for owner occupancy in compliance with the Rent Stabilization Ordinance (Chapter 13.76) [1] Clause A no-fault eviction is an eviction under the Ellis Act or Sections 13.76.130.A.9 or 10 of the Municipal Code (Sec. 23.314.020.A.7). The five-year bar applies to a property containing a unit with a no-fault eviction (Sec. 23.314.040.C). |
| Can an accessory dwelling unit or accessory building be used as a short-term rental? | Conditional: accessory buildings are allowed; an accessory dwelling unit permitted before April 3, 2017 is allowed unless it is or was used for long-term rentals; an accessory dwelling unit permitted after April 3, 2017 is not allowed [1] Clause Sec. 23.314.040.D allows short-term rentals in accessory buildings and in accessory dwelling units permitted before April 3, 2017, except where the unit is used for long-term rentals as defined in Chapter 13.76 or was used for long-term rentals at any time before April 3, 2017. A short-term rental is not allowed in an accessory dwelling unit permitted after April 3, 2017. State law on ADUs and junior ADUs applies as well; see the California page. |
| What is the maximum number of guests? | Set by Municipal Code Chapter 19.40 (Uniform Housing Code); the maximum number of short-term rental transients is as provided there [1] Clause Sec. 23.314.050.C refers to Chapter 19.40 for the maximum number of transients, and Sec. 23.314.050.I requires any building or portion of a building used for short-term rentals to comply with Section 19.40. We haven't reviewed Chapter 19.40 yet, so this page doesn't state a number. |
Operating rules
| Is liability insurance required? | Yes: liability insurance of at least $1 million, carried by the host or by the hosting platform on the host's behalf [1] Clause Sec. 23.314.050.F. |
|---|---|
| Is there an enforcement fee on rents? | Yes: 2 percent of the rents the host charges, for the initial enforcement period, not to exceed the cost of the regulatory program over time; the City Council may revise it by resolution [1] ClauseConfirming The hosting platform may pay the fee on the host's behalf (Sec. 23.314.050.E). The chapter's text carries no fee-schedule date, and we haven't reviewed any Council resolution revising the percentage, so confirm the current rate with the City. |
| Zoning Certificate number in advertisements | Required: list the Zoning Certificate number on any rental advertisement; give the Business License number (if Chapter 9.04 requires one) and the Zoning Certificate to the City on request [1] Clause Sec. 23.314.050.K. The requests may come from the City or from a vendor hired by the City to administer the chapter. |
| Notice to adjacent properties | Required: after the City approves a Zoning Certificate and Business License, notify residents of all adjacent properties, with host and local contact information; update them within one week of any change [1] Clause Adjacent properties are the dwelling units abutting and confronting, as well as above and below, the dwelling unit within which the rental is located (Sec. 23.314.020.A.1; Sec. 23.314.050.D). |
| Local contact | The host designates a local contact who is available during the rental, responds within sixty minutes to complaints and can take remedial action on the host's behalf [1] Clause The local contact's information goes in the notices to adjacent neighbors (Secs. 23.314.020.A.6, 23.314.050.D). |
| Documents to give guests | Required: the Community Noise Ordinance (Chapter 13.40) and the Smoke-Free Multi-Unit Housing Ordinance (Chapter 12.70), on booking and on arrival, by the host or the hosting platform [1] Clause Sec. 23.314.050.G. Copies may be electronic or paper. |
| Taxes and housing code compliance | The host pays all City taxes and fees on time; the building must comply with the Uniform Housing Code (Section 19.40) [1] Clause Secs. 23.314.050.I and J. |
Penalties & enforcement
| Loss of the right to operate after repeated violations | Prohibited from operating short-term rentals for one year after a third violation affidavit under the Second Response Ordinance (Chapter 13.48) [1] Clause The host must comply with the Second Response Ordinance on civil penalties for multiple responses to loud or unruly parties, gatherings or similar events (Sec. 23.314.060.A). |
|---|---|
| Penalties for violations | Punishable under Chapters 1.20 (General Penalty) and 1.28 (Administrative Citations); a violation is also a public nuisance subject to abatement, and a Berkeley resident may sue for an injunction after 30 days' written notice [1] Clause Sec. 23.314.060.B also provides that the prevailing party may recover reasonable attorneys' fees and costs, limited by Government Code Section 38773.5, and lists public nuisance conditions such as excessive noise or traffic and public intoxication. We haven't reviewed Chapters 1.20 and 1.28, so this page doesn't state fine amounts. |
State law that also applies
| Who sets lodging taxes on short stays in California? | Each city or county: state law lets them levy a transient occupancy tax on stays of 30 days or less [2] Clause California Revenue and Taxation Code section 7280 lets the legislative body of any city, county, or city and county levy a tax on the privilege of occupying a room or other living space in a hotel, inn, tourist home or house, motel or other lodging, unless the stay is longer than 30 days. A county's tax applies only in its unincorporated areas. The rate, registration and filing rules are set by each city or county, so the local tax is shown in the city's own section of this page. |
|---|---|
| Can cities make booking platforms report rentals and show local license numbers? | Yes, where the city or county opts in by ordinance (Short-Term Rental Facilitator Act of 2025, in force January 1, 2026) [3] Clause 1 Clause 2 Clause 3 Clause 4 Government Code sections 50990 to 50996 (Senate Bill 346, 2025) apply only in a city or county that adopts an ordinance making them apply. Where they apply, a booking platform must, on the local agency's request, report the physical address with nine-digit ZIP code of each short-term rental it facilitated (no more often than every 3 months, or monthly if the local tax is remitted monthly), and must include in each listing any applicable local license number and any transient occupancy tax certification issued by the local agency. The local agency may fine a platform that does not report. The act does not stop a city or county from regulating short-term rentals, platforms or tax collection in other ways. |
| Short-term rentals in ADUs and junior ADUs under state law | Junior ADUs, and ADUs approved under the state's by-right path, must be rented for more than 30 days; for other ADUs a city may require 30-day-plus rentals [4] [5] [6] Clause 1 Clause 2 Clause 3 Government Code section 66333(g) requires a city's junior accessory dwelling unit ordinance to require that a rental of a junior ADU be for a term longer than 30 days (as amended by Assembly Bill 1154, in force January 1, 2026). Section 66323(e) requires a city to require that a rental of an ADU created under that section (the ministerial, by-right approvals) be for a term longer than 30 days. For other ADUs on a lot with a single-family home, section 66315 bars standards beyond section 66314, including owner occupancy, except that a city may require that the property be used for rentals of terms 30 days or longer. Cities can be stricter in their own codes; see the city section. |
| Can an HOA or condo association ban short-term rentals? | Yes: associations may prohibit rentals of 30 days or less, though they cannot ban or unreasonably restrict longer rentals [7] Clause Civil Code section 4741 says an owner in a common interest development is not subject to a governing-document provision that prohibits, has the effect of prohibiting, or unreasonably restricts renting or leasing a separate interest, ADU or junior ADU, and an association may not cap rentals below 25 percent of the separate interests. The same section says it does not prohibit an association from adopting and enforcing a provision that prohibits transient or short-term rental of a separate property interest for 30 days or less. Check your association's governing documents. |
| Are short-stay guests covered by California landlord-tenant law? | Not by the Civil Code chapter on renting homes while the stay is subject to a local occupancy tax [8] Clause Civil Code section 1940 applies the chapter on hiring of real property (Civil Code sections 1940 to 1954.071) to tenants, lessees, boarders, lodgers and others who hire dwelling units, but excludes a person in transient occupancy in a hotel, motel, residence club or other facility when the stay is or would be subject to a transient occupancy tax under Revenue and Taxation Code section 7280 (stays of 30 days or less). Stays longer than that are not covered by this exclusion. |
Changes
Recent and pending changes
We read Chapter 23.314 (Short-Term Rentals) of the Berkeley Municipal Code and Chapter 1.04 (General Provisions) as published on berkeley.municipal.codes and captured on October 18, 2026. The chapter's history note cites Ordinance 7787-NS (2021). We haven't reviewed the zoning code, the transient occupancy tax chapter, Chapters 1.20, 1.28, 9.04, 13.48 or 19.40, the fee schedules, or City Council agendas and minutes yet, so we will watch the Code and those pages for changes.
Sources
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This page is general information compiled from public sources, not legal or tax advice. HOA rules, deed restrictions and zoning for a specific property can be stricter. Confirm with the local permitting office and a qualified professional before buying or listing a property.