Short-term rentals in Los Angeles County (unincorporated areas), explained properly.

A Vacation Rental, defined as a dwelling unit that is not a Primary Residence and is available for temporary lodging for compensation, is a separate defined term; bed and breakfast inns, hotels and month-to-month tenancies paid monthly are not Vacation Rentals under that definition. The chapter's purpose clause refers to stays of 30 consecutive days or less.

The host's affidavit must also state that the unit is not an accessory dwelling unit, a rent-restricted primary residence or a vacation rental. Bed and breakfast inns, hotels and month-to-month tenancies paid monthly are outside the Vacation Rental definition.

A Rent Restricted Primary Residence is one subject to affordable housing restrictions by deed or agreement with the County or another public agency, a housing subsidy agreement, or State or federal restrictions. State rules on short-term rental of accessory dwelling units are in the California state rules on this page.

The County Code defines an Accessory Dwelling Unit by reference to Section 22.14.010. The definition of a Hosted Stay lets the host live in an accessory dwelling unit or a detached residential unit, provided no more than two detached units are on the property; the ban in Sec. 7.96.050(D) and the affidavit in Sec. 7.96.040(D)(8) are about renting the accessory unit to guests.

A host may have only one Primary Residence. Booking short-term rentals at more than one residence in the unincorporated areas, or booking a guest on the same night another guest is reserved, are among the violations that carry the higher host fine (see the fines rule).

These limits are also in the host's affidavit and in the hosting platform duties (a platform must limit all bookings to 30 consecutive days or less). Booking a stay of more than 30 consecutive days, a Hosted Stay of less than one night or an Un-Hosted Stay of less than two consecutive nights is among the violations that carry the higher host fine.

A new owner, lessee or sublessee needs a new certificate. Duplicate certificates may be issued to the Registrant or an authorized representative on payment of an amount set by the Tax Collector.

Check your lease and your association's governing documents before applying. California law on association rules is in the state rules on this page.

The Tax Collector will not process an application until the fee is paid. Fees and penalties are forfeited on abandonment or denial of an application or on suspension or revocation of a certificate; a refund is possible for an excess, erroneous or double payment, or when an applicant withdraws in writing before a decision. The fee is stated in the ordinance text (Ord. 2024-0015, 2024). We haven't reviewed a County fee schedule or its date yet, so confirm the current amount with the Tax Collector.

The application must include information to verify the host's identity and Primary Residence, the Local Responsible Contact, a list of all hosting platforms to be used, and whether Un-Hosted Stays will be offered. The host must also sign an affidavit under penalty of perjury (see the affidavit rule). An applicant who violates the chapter may be denied for up to one year.

The affidavit is signed under penalty of perjury before the Tax Collector issues a certificate. On property tax, the host affirms the secured-roll tax is not deemed defaulted under Revenue and Taxation Code section 3436 and that any unsecured-roll tax is paid before the delinquency date under section 2922.

The saved text does not show whether either step has happened. Coastal rules for short-term rentals are in the California state rules on this page. Confirm with the County whether an address in a Coastal Zone or the Santa Monica Mountains North Area is covered.

Section 7.96.150(A) is the only effective-date wording in the saved text. Every section's history note reads "Ord. 2024-0015 § 1, 2024" with no month or day. The chapter is part of the County Code as published on Municode in the version dated October 2, 2026. We haven't worked out a date from the 180-day wording; confirm with the Treasurer and Tax Collector when registration is required for an address.

Lofts that meet California Building Code egress requirements count as a bedroom for this calculation. A rental must be reserved and paid for by a guest at least 21 years old.

The application must identify the Local Responsible Contact. A notice inside the rental must give the contact's name and a telephone number to be reached 24 hours a day, along with the maximum occupants, parking, trash and recycling information, emergency contacts and an evacuation plan with fire extinguisher locations.

A copy of the valid certificate must be posted in a conspicuous place inside the rental.

Hosting platforms must list the certificate number on booking transactions and must remove listings on notice from the Tax Collector of a violation.

A rental also may not adversely affect neighborhood character through nuisance activity such as illegal parking, disturbances of the peace, excessive noise, vibration, glare, light, odors or littering.

The notice posted inside the rental must state the parking capacity, location of on-site spaces and any parking rules. We haven't reviewed Title 22, so the parking counts are not shown here.

In high fire hazard zones designated in Title 32 of the County Code (Appendix P 102.3), listings and the exterior of the premises must carry notice that smoking of any kind and any open flame, including outdoor barbecue grills and fire pits, are prohibited in any exterior area.

A platform that breaks these rules can be fined up to $1,000 per violation per day (see the fines rule).

The $2,000 host fine covers booking without a valid, unexpired and unsuspended certificate, booking at more than one residence, booking two guests the same night, and booking stays beyond the 30-day, 1-night hosted, 2-night un-hosted and 90-night limits. Each day is a separate violation. Section 7.96.110(C)(2) tells the notice of noncompliance to state fines "up to the Short-Term Rentals registration fee amount", which is $914, while Section 7.96.110(L) allows up to $2,000, so the County's own text gives two ceilings; confirm the figure with the Tax Collector. A person who violates the chapter may also face a criminal case or civil or administrative action, including an injunction, a fine and imprisonment in the County for up to six months. Administrative fines follow Chapter 1.25 of the County Code, which we haven't reviewed yet.

On suspension or revocation the Registrant must cancel future bookings and remove all advertisements, and must surrender the certificate. A host with a suspended certificate may not advertise or rent during the suspension, and one whose certificate was revoked or lapsed without renewal may not advertise or rent until a new certificate is authorized by the County.

The notice of appeal must state all bases for the appeal, including a detailed statement of defense and supporting evidence, a signature and mailing address, and payment for the cost of the appeal as set out in the notice.

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.