Short-term rentals in Long Beach, explained properly.

Section 5.77.030(B)(4) says the total number of non-primary residence STR registrations allocated shall not exceed 800 dwelling units unless the City Council directs otherwise by ordinance or resolution, and the Council reviews the number annually. For the coastal zone it says the maximum number of non-primary dwelling units registered as STRs is 350, and that the citywide cap is not applied to prohibit additional STRs in the coastal zone until those 350 units are exhausted. Once the 800 limit is reached, the City's page says applicants are placed on a Waiting List; the page also says how many non-primary units are registered is shown in a table on that page that was not read. If the cap has been reached, a registration that is not renewed at least 30 days before it expires becomes null and void at expiration (Section 5.77.040(E)). Whether the coastal figure is in effect is addressed in the coastal zone rule.

Section 5.77.030(B)(2) says an STR operator shall not operate more than one primary residence STR and more than one non-primary residence STR in the City. The City's page puts it as one registration of each type per individual. Where a primary residence has two or more legally permitted dwelling units on the parcel (for example a duplex), the code treats the parcel and all its units as the primary residence.

A residential development project is a multi-family development of two or more units with one or more buildings on one or more parcels. Section 5.77.030(B)(3) caps the number of STRs in it by the number of dwelling units: 2 to 10 units, 1 STR; 11 to 50 units, 10%; 51 to 100 units, 12%; 101 or more units, 15%. The City's page applies the same table to the number of qualified dwelling units on a property or development, says ADUs are not counted when determining the number of qualified units, and shows the first row as 1 to 10 units; the code's 2 to 10 is followed here.

Section 5.77.050(C) limits un-hosted stays in a primary residence STR to a maximum of 90 days per the annual term of registration, and exceeding it is a listed violation (Section 5.77.090(A)(9)). Hosting platforms may not complete a booking that would exceed that limit (Section 5.77.070(A)). A hosted stay is one where the host remains on-site and resides in the unit or part of it throughout the guest's stay, except during daytime or work hours. The City's page lists un-hosted and hosted activity at a non-primary residence STR as unlimited in days (subject to the 800 cap).

The City's FAQ on its STR page asks whether the City has a minimum number of nights required for booked stays and answers "No." The code defines a short-term rental as occupancy for one to thirty consecutive nights, and the zoning definition uses thirty or fewer consecutive nights; the transient occupancy tax chapter treats a stay of more than 30 days with a written agreement for at least 31 consecutive days as non-transient.

Section 5.77.050(B) says ADUs and JADUs are approved for residential use but are prohibited from use as a short-term rental, and Section 5.77.030(B)(1) makes them ineligible to register. The City's page lists casitas, garages, rumpus rooms, storage rooms and pool houses as not qualified, and lists single family dwellings, individual units on a multi-family property, maid quarters, guest houses and apartments (all subject to being legally permitted as habitable space) as qualified. State law on ADU rentals is in the California section above.

The Prohibited Buildings List names buildings whose owners, including any homeowners' association or board, have told the City that short-term rentals are not permitted anywhere in the building, including deed-restricted affordable housing units; a listed building cannot be registered (Section 5.77.030(B)(1)). The City's page says landlords and HOAs outside the coastal zone submit a notarized self-certification form to [email protected]. Each form is a certification under penalty of perjury that STRs are prohibited at the listed addresses, and it remains in effect for three years from the date of execution unless revoked in writing; the landlord form also expires automatically for an address on sale or transfer of title. In the coastal zone the list applies only to buildings with explicit restrictions on short-term rentals, in non-discriminatory covenants or HOA covenants, conditions and restrictions recorded before the Coastal Act (January 1, 1977); restrictions proposed after that date need a Local Coastal Development Permit, and the City's page tells coastal-zone HOAs to contact the City rather than use the form. Separately, if a unit is subject to HOA, condominium or covenant rules that restrict STRs, a City registration does not override those rules (in the coastal zone this applies only to rules recorded before January 1, 1977). Landlord and lease terms are between the parties; the City requires the owner's notarized consent form when the applicant is a tenant.

Section 5.77.080 lets owners of residential property in a census tract block group ask the City to start a petition to prohibit un-hosted STRs there. A successful petition needs signatures, printed names and addresses of a majority of the property owners who received petition forms in that block group; the City mails the forms and the requester pays the cost. One request per block group is accepted in each petition period. Once approved, the restriction lasts at least three years and then continues indefinitely unless prohibited by law or removed by a later majority petition; the City posts a list or map of restricted block groups online and notifies the owners affected. If the block group includes coastal zone areas, a successful petition has no effect on coastal zone properties until the Coastal Commission or the City approves a Coastal Development Permit with the required Coastal Act findings. The code sets a petition period each year from January 1 through June 30, while the City's current application form states an application period of December 8, 2025 to June 7, 2026 and a petition fee of $1,076.00; the two are not reconciled here, and the form's fee is tied to that period. Which block groups are currently restricted could not be read from the sources saved, so check the City's posted list or map for a specific address.

The code of ordinances now includes coastal-zone provisions: a 350-unit maximum for non-primary STRs in the coastal zone (Section 5.77.030(B)(4)), a coastal limit on the Prohibited Buildings List and on HOA and covenant rules to those recorded before the Coastal Act (January 1, 1977), a Local Coastal Development Permit requirement before an un-hosted restriction takes effect in the coastal zone, and a duty to report to the Coastal Commission after the first coastal restriction (Section 5.77.050(S)). A December 20, 2021 Coastal Commission notice says the Commission approved Local Coastal Program Amendment No. LCP-5-LOB-20-0058-3 (short-term rentals) with suggested modifications, and that it would not be effective in the City's coastal zone until the City Council adopts the modifications, forwards them by resolution, the Executive Director certifies the City's compliance and the Commission concurs; the deadline was June 15, 2022. The modifications listed in the notice match the language now in the code, but the sources read do not include the City Council's adoption, the Executive Director's certification or any certification of the 2025 rewrite of the chapter, so the coastal-zone rules are held for review. The City's coastal zone map and property lookup show whether an address is inside the coastal zone. The state-level coastal zone rule is in the California section above.

The City's short-term rental page says the fee for the City to review a new or renewal STR application is $545.00, payable before review and not refundable once the application has been reviewed, and that payment does not guarantee approval. The page does not show an effective date or name the fee schedule. Other City documents show different figures: the City's FAQ updated January 26, 2021 gives $250 per application and per renewal, and the fiscal year 2025 adopted fee adjustments list shows the short term rental application registration fee changing from $260 to $400 per application. No fee schedule currently in force was found, so the amount and its effective date need to be confirmed with the City. Occasional event permits, petition fees and TOT are separate.

A registration is valid for one year from issuance (Section 5.77.040). It can be renewed annually if the operator pays the renewal fee, reports changes to the earlier application, submits the TOT records for the last year, provides updated documents, and is not the subject of active or pending criminal or civil investigations or actions involving violence. The City may re-inspect at renewal. Renewal is not allowed if the unit or operator has active or pending code enforcement actions, if the owner or operator has accumulated three or more citations during any contiguous 18-month period, or if code enforcement citation fees are owed on the property. The City's page asks for renewal applications 30 days before expiry. If the 800 non-primary cap has been reached, a renewal application filed less than 30 days before expiry voids the registration at expiration. A renewal application becomes invalid if approval is not obtained within 45 days after City review.

Section 5.77.050(F) limits the number of persons present on the STR property at one time to two per bedroom plus two, with an absolute maximum of eight, children included. A studio unit is considered to have no bedrooms and a maximum occupancy of two. Lofts that meet California Building Code egress requirements count as bedrooms for this calculation. The maximum occupancy must be posted in the unit and given to prospective guests before occupancy, and violating it is a listed violation.

Section 5.77.050(F) prohibits large-scale events (those exceeding the maximum allowed occupancy), such as commercial parties, weddings, fundraisers and conferences, as part of the short-term rental use unless a STR occasional event permit has been issued. No more than four occasional event permits can be issued per STR during the annual registration term, and any further application in the same term is void. The City's page says the permit comes from the Long Beach Special Events office. Filming or special events also need the STR registration plus a Special Events Permit where applicable. Outdoor pools, spas and hot tubs may not be used between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.

The operator must name an emergency contact available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to respond within one hour to complaints forwarded by the City or its agent and to take any remedial action needed (Section 5.77.030(B)(5)). Each STR must have a notice posted in a clearly marked, guest-accessible place with the maximum occupants, parking capacity and rules, trash and recycling pickup, the emergency contact's name and 24-hour phone number, police, fire and medical emergency contacts, and an evacuation plan showing exits and fire extinguisher locations (Section 5.77.050(E)). The City runs a 24-hour STR complaint hotline.

Section 5.77.060 requires the operator to maintain and provide proof of liability insurance appropriate to the short-term rental use of not less than $1,000,000 in the aggregate, or to conduct each transaction through a platform that provides equal or greater insurance coverage. The operator must provide and maintain working fire extinguishers, smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, and information on emergency exit routes and emergency contacts. The operator must also give guests, before occupancy, the maximum occupants, parking, noise rules and trash and recycling information.

Section 5.77.050(A) requires all marketing and advertising of a STR, including any listing on a hosting platform, to clearly list the City-issued registration number and expiration date. No sign may be posted on the exterior of the premises to advertise the unit to the public. No advertisement may offer a unit, bedroom or other area not documented during the inspection. Advertising an unregistered STR is a listed violation.

Section 5.77.070 says hosting platforms may not process or complete a booking if the City notifies them that no valid current registration has been issued to the operator, must list the registration number and expiration date, and may not complete a booking that would exceed the 90-day un-hosted limit. Platforms must give the City a contact person and must provide, on a monthly basis, the registration number, responsible person, address, days booked and total price for each booking in the reporting period. They must remove listings, including those on the Prohibited Buildings List, on City notice. Where a platform has a platform agreement and the operator has assigned TOT collection to it, the platform and operator share the same duties and liabilities. The platform provisions will not apply if the City determines they violate or are preempted by state or federal law.

Section 5.77.090(G) sets the fine at $1,000 for each violation notwithstanding Chapter 1.32, and says an owner or operator may receive multiple citations for a single event if it violates multiple provisions of the Municipal Code or Penal Code, or if violations continue for multiple days without resolution. Violations may result in an immediate citation without a cure period once the City verifies them, and violations involving violence count double toward the three-citation limit. The City may also recover investigative and enforcement costs, unpaid TOT and illegally obtained rental revenue, and attorneys' fees.

Under Section 5.77.090(H), if three citations are issued against an STR property, registered or unregistered, within an 18-month period, the Director may revoke, suspend or disallow the registration or impose conditions, after written notice and 14 calendar days for the owner to respond with information. If a registration is revoked or disallowed, no dwelling unit on that parcel may be registered for a minimum of 12 months, regardless of who the operator is, and registration after that is only on request and Director review. The Director can also cancel or suspend a registration if the owner or operator fails to respond to or remedy an incident involving violence. A decision of the Director may be appealed to the Board of Examiners, Appeals and Condemnation.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In a December 6, 2016 letter to coastal cities and counties, the California Coastal Commission said that regulating short-term or vacation rentals in the coastal zone must happen within the local coastal program or under a coastal development permit, because it changes the intensity of use and access to the shoreline and so counts as development under the Coastal Act. The Commission said it does not believe outright bans adopted outside that process are legally enforceable in the coastal zone, that it has not historically supported blanket bans, and that it has supported limits such as caps on numbers by area, limits on days, occupancy limits, 24-hour response, parking, noise and signage rules and payment of transient occupancy tax. This applies only to places inside the coastal zone.