Short-term rentals in Mono County, explained properly.

Section 5.65.040(J) and (K) require all short-term rental owners to obtain a valid business license under Mono County Code Chapter 5.04 and to obtain a transient occupancy tax certificate and comply with Chapter 3.28, Transient Occupancy Tax. An owner may contract with a management company or property manager to collect, disburse, report and keep records of the tax, but remains responsible for any failure to collect, disburse or accurately report it. The application must state that the owner has obtained, or is in the process of obtaining, the business license and the tax certificate from the department of finance. Chapters 5.04 and 3.28 were not read, so this page gives no tax rate, fee or filing deadline.

Section 5.65.040(C) and (D) and Sec. 5.65.070(C) allow only the property owner to apply for and be issued an STR activity permit, and enforcement is taken against the owners. Only natural persons are eligible. If the owner is not a natural person, the natural person who applies on its behalf (the owner's representative) must submit a notarized agreement declaring authority to act for the entity, entity formation documents, and documentation dated no more than a year before the application showing the entity is registered and in good standing with the California Secretary of State. Renewals need the current entity documents and fresh good-standing documentation.

Section 5.65.040(I) lists five bars: (1) properties owned by a person who had a vacation home rental permit, STR activity permit, visitor rental business license or visitor rental use permit revoked for non-compliance within the past two years; (2) properties the current owners have held for less than one year; (3) residential structures less than one year past the certificate of occupancy; (4) units deed-restricted for affordable housing; and (5) projects that received a density bonus under state density bonus law, unless specified in the use permit. Section 5.65.115(B) exempts certain cases from the one-year periods in items (2) and (3); see the waiting period rule. The mandatory denial grounds in Sec. 5.65.080(D) repeat these and add others.

Section 5.65.080(D) requires denial where: the owner willingly or negligently made a false statement of material fact or knowingly omitted one; a previous STR activity permit of the same owner or a part-owner was revoked within the preceding two years and appeals are exhausted or time-barred; the owner or a part-owner was found by a hearing body or court to have operated short-term rentals in violation of state or local law within the preceding two years; the unit was constructed less than one year before the application; the owner acquired the property less than one year before the application; a person with an ownership interest has an existing visitor rental in Mono County; the property has an outstanding violation or is the subject of a code enforcement case; the unit is deed-restricted for affordable housing; the property was developed or approved with a density bonus unless specified in the use permit; or a no-fault eviction has occurred in the unit within the last two years (owner move-in, remodel, Ellis Act withdrawal or compliance with a government order, as defined by state law including AB 1482). Before granting a permit the approval authority must also make findings that include that issuance is in the best interests of the community, after a noticed public hearing (Sec. 5.65.080(B) and (C)).

Before applying, the applicant must obtain, at their own cost, an inspection by a county-approved inspection officer on a county-provided signed form showing the unit meets the chapter, including the Sec. 5.65.110 standards. Applications are available from the Mono County Community Development Department or on the county website and are filed with the department; applicants in June Lake should request a date-stamped receipt. An STR activity permit application and a use permit application may be filed together, but no STR activity permit issues until the use permit or other land use entitlement is approved. After staff review and use permit approval the director sets a hearing before the approval authority, with notice by mail or email to anyone requesting it and publication in a newspaper of general circulation ten days in advance. An application inactive for six months is deemed expired. Required contents include owner contact information, the 24-hour property manager's contact information, proof of land use approvals, the inspection form, hosted-rental residency proofs, and confirmation of the business license and transient occupancy tax certificate.

Section 5.65.080(F) says an STR activity permit is an annual permit that expires on August 31 of each year unless renewed or revoked; a permit granted within three months before the expiration date skips the first renewal cycle and expires August 31 of the following year. Under Sec. 5.65.090, a renewal or modification application with the fee must be filed at least thirty calendar days before expiration; if the renewal application and fees are not submitted thirty days before August 31, the permit may not be timely renewed and operations are suspended until the renewal is approved. If an application is incomplete the owner has fifteen business days to supply the listed items. A timely renewal lets rentals continue under the existing permit until the director decides. Denial grounds for renewal include nonconformity, delinquent county taxes or fees, a suspended or revoked permit or pending code enforcement, and a change in ownership or in the ownership entity; the owner has ten calendar days to appeal a denial.

Section 5.65.100 requires an application, a renewal or a written appeal request to be accompanied by the fees the Board of Supervisors establishes by resolution to recover the cost of administering the chapter, and makes owners responsible for the costs of inspections, investigations and any other fee-associated activity. The fee resolution or fee schedule was not among the pages read, so this page gives no amount or effective date.

Section 5.65.115(A) allows an exemption from any standard or regulation as part of STR activity permit approval when review identifies no articulable negative neighborhood impacts, safety problems or nuisance issues related to the standard waived and the rental is consistent with or not contrary to the housing protection goals listed there: prioritizing personal residential use of residential units, supporting a sharing model for resident owners with excess capacity, preventing loss of residential housing to a visitor lodging model, and preventing commodification of residential housing through an income-generating use in the sales price. Section 5.65.115(B) separately exempts three cases from the one-year waiting period after sale or construction (see the waiting period rule).

A duly-licensed property manager or company must maintain a California real estate license and certified property manager credentials (Sec. 5.65.070(D)(5)). The owner must immediately notify the Community Development Department of changes to management contact information. The owner, managing agency or property manager (and the host for hosted rentals) must be personally available by telephone 24 hours a day; failure to respond in a timely, appropriate manner may result in revocation of the STR activity permit and business license. Section 5.65.110(G)(2) says the owner or property manager must be able to respond within a reasonable timeframe, preferably within an hour. A hideaway key or other lockout access must be available at all times.

Section 5.65.110(C) limits the persons who may occupy the property as transient renters or their overnight guests to two per bedroom plus two additional persons, and in no event more than ten in any rental unit unless the Mono County Building Official certifies and approves the unit as meeting all applicable building standards for that occupancy. Occupancy may be further restricted by the limits of the septic system serving the dwelling, as determined by Mono County Environmental Health. The maximum number of occupants must appear on the exterior sign and the interior notice.

Parking requirements are based on the Mono County General Plan, and the number of vehicles shall not exceed the number of parking spaces. The requirements must be noticed in the rental agreement and posted on and in the unit. Parking on property owned by other persons is considered trespass. A violation may bring administrative, civil and criminal penalties, including fines and towing. The exterior sign must show the maximum number of vehicles and a diagram of the designated parking location.

Section 5.65.110(G)(3) sets quiet hours from ten p.m. to seven a.m. and prohibits outdoor amplified sound at all times. Owners and hosts are responsible for assuring that occupants and guests do not create unreasonable noise or disturbances or engage in disorderly conduct, and must promptly act, including calling law enforcement when appropriate, once informed of a violation.

Each unit needs one temporary exterior identification sign, not to exceed eight and one-half by eleven inches, posted whenever the unit is rented short-term, showing the 24-hour contact for the managing agency, agent, manager, owner or host, the maximum occupants and the maximum vehicles with a parking diagram. An interior notice next to the front door repeats that information and adds trash and bear-safe disposal instructions, appliance and fireplace use, notice that parking, trash and occupancy violations can bring removal and penalties, the street address and emergency contacts, and an evacuation plan. The permit number assigned at issuance must be posted in the title of every short-term rental advertisement, online or otherwise. Within the Clark Tract in June Lake, advertisements and the rental agreement must disclose rough road conditions and the potential need for chains in winter.

Section 5.65.110(A) requires, among other items, an unobstructed visible address; carbon monoxide and smoke detectors in each bedroom, sleeping area and the access corridor; a minimum of one 2A:10B:C fire extinguisher within seventy-five feet of travel to all parts of the structure and at least one per floor with current State Fire Marshal tags; an ash container for any fireplace or solid-fuel barbecue; furniture kept fifty-four inches from fireplace openings and thirty inches from wall or floor heaters; no tree limbs within ten feet of chimney or flue openings; spark arresters with openings between three-eighths and one-half inch; exterior door locks operable from inside without a key and two exit doors for dwellings over three thousand square feet; landline telephone service connected to the reverse 911 directory; operable bedroom escape windows and one screened window per bedroom; fenced or locked-cover hot tubs, pools and spas; and exits kept clear. Where another law is more stringent, that requirement applies. Exterior lighting must comply with Chapter 23, Dark Sky Regulations, except for rentals operating north of Mountain Gate.

Section 5.65.110(E) requires enough trash receptacles, no accumulation of trash, and removal at least one time per week during any week the unit is occupied, regardless of the number of days occupied. Outside receptacles must be bear-proof containers in areas with bears and meet county standards, and property management is responsible for cleanup if tenants do not dispose of trash properly. Section 5.65.110(F) requires snow removal from driveways, walkways, stairs, decks and all exits and entrances before each occupancy and as needed during it, and timely removal of snow, ice and ice dams from roofs, decks and stairs.

The owner must maintain property insurance specific to short-term rentals covering at least fire and liability, including injury and damage to hosts, guests and others, in an appropriate amount, and must provide proof to the county on reasonable request; the owner must also defend, indemnify and hold the county harmless. The rental agreement must attach a copy of the chapter and the STR activity permit and state the occupancy, parking and vehicle limits, trash requirements and the problem-contact telephone number, and must warn renters that they may be financially responsible for damage. The owner, agency or manager must keep a list of the names and contact information of adult guests. The owner must notify the lender of a change in use to short-term rental, if applicable, and give verification to the county on request.

Section 5.65.160(A) allows any violation of a short-term rental ordinance of the county, including Chapter 5.65 and Chapters 25 and 26 of the Mono County General Plan, to be enforced through administrative citation under MCC Chapter 1.12, at one thousand five hundred dollars for a first violation, three thousand dollars for a second violation within one year of the first and five thousand dollars for each additional violation within one year of the first. A first-time failure to register or pay the business license fee is instead subject to the fines in MCC Section 1.12.030 (amounts not read). Each violation is a separate violation per day (Sec. 5.65.160(C)), and violations are also subject to injunctive relief, disgorgement, abatement, investigation and restoration costs and restitution. A condition in violation is a public nuisance subject to abatement under MCC Chapter 7.20. A party fined may request a hardship waiver within ten business days after service of the citation if it made a bona fide effort to comply after the first violation and full payment would be an undue financial burden; the fine is then reduced to the Section 1.12.030 amounts or another amount the code compliance officer decides.

Section 5.65.130 lists the grounds: failure to comply with the permit, the chapter, the General Plan or other law; a permit granted on false material information; any revocation of the conditional use permit; failure to pay applicable state or county taxes or fees; and a nuisance the permittee has failed to abate. The director first issues a written notice of intention to suspend or revoke with a reasonable time to correct; if not corrected the director may issue a notice of suspension or revocation, effective ten calendar days after postmark or email unless the owner submits an appeal form for a hearing within those ten days (failure to appeal waives the right to challenge). The suspension or revocation is stayed until the hearing body's decision is final. The hearing body issues a written decision within thirty calendar days after the hearing closes, which is the county's final administrative decision. An owner whose permit was revoked within the past two years cannot apply for a new one (Secs. 5.65.040(I) and 5.65.080(D)).

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.