Short-term rentals in Palm Desert, explained properly.

Sec. 5.10.050(A) lists the on-site and off-site short-term rental permit types. An on-site permit is conditioned on the host showing regular occupancy; an off-site permit requires an operator the owner designates (Sec. 5.10.040). Each type is limited to the zones in Sec. 5.10.070.

Sec. 5.10.070(A)(2)(d) lists units with one bedroom or less among the prohibited unit types for on-site rentals. The off-site list in Sec. 5.10.070(B)(2) names apartments, ADUs and junior ADUs, and the occupancy table in Sec. 5.10.090(G) has a one-bedroom row for off-site rentals. A bedroom must meet the Sec. 5.10.030 definition (door, an egress-compliant window, a built-in closet or storage area, and access to a bathroom without crossing another bedroom).

Sec. 5.10.080(A) says a new off-site permit in the HPR zone will not be issued. Under Sec. 5.10.080(B) existing HPR off-site permits may be renewed if otherwise qualified, but all such permits terminate and the use permanently ceases by December 31, 2026. Under Sec. 5.10.080(C), if an existing HPR off-site permit is revoked, a new permit will not be issued.

Sec. 5.10.060(D) says that within thirty days of a change of property ownership the new owner must submit an application and the application fee for a new short-term rental permit if continued short-term rental is desired, and that permit must be obtained before the new owner continues to rent the unit. The text calls for a new permit rather than a transfer of the old one, but a reader could treat the thirty-day filing as a transfer, so this rule is marked for review.

Sec. 5.10.060(F) says a permit must be renewed annually and that failure to renew within thirty calendar days of the expiration date terminates it. Under Sec. 5.10.060(G) renewal is subject to intervening changes to the chapter and is denied if the rental no longer qualifies, unless specifically exempted. A permit is not issued or renewed while there are unresolved city code compliance cases, outstanding city fines or fees, or city liens on the property (Sec. 5.10.060(E)). The city may inspect before issuing a new or renewal permit.

Sec. 5.10.060(G) says a permit will not be renewed if the unit has not been actively operating in the prior calendar year. Sec. 5.10.030 defines actively operating as rented out or occupied for a total of more than eighteen days per calendar year. A host or operator denied renewal for that reason may apply for a new permit if otherwise qualified.

Sec. 5.10.060(A) lists the application items and allows the city manager to require other reasonably necessary information. A permit is not granted for a property that does not qualify under Sec. 5.10.070. The city may inspect the unit before issuing a new or renewal permit, and may deny an application if the applicant has had a prior short-term rental permit suspended or revoked. Within thirty days of any change to information given in the application, the host or operator must give the city written notice (Sec. 5.10.060(J)).

Sec. 5.10.060(C) requires the application to be accompanied by an application processing fee established by resolution of the city council. The fee amount and the date of its schedule weren't in the pages we reviewed, so no amount is shown. Check the City's current fee schedule.

Sec. 5.10.090(G) caps overnight guests at two persons per bedroom. Additional daytime guests are allowed between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., not to exceed two persons per bedroom, with a maximum of twenty guests for five bedrooms or more. For an on-site rental the host is deemed to occupy at least one bedroom, which reduces the bedrooms available to overnight guests and the daytime total. The code's table for off-site rentals (bedrooms: overnight guests / total daytime guests including overnight guests) reads: 1: 2 / 4; 2: 4 / 8; 3: 6 / 12; 4: 8 / 16; 5: 10 / 20; 6: 12 / 20; 7: 14 / 20. Advertisements must state the maximum overnight occupancy.

Sec. 5.10.090(A) and (B) require the host or operator to be available around the clock while the unit is rented and to respond within thirty minutes in an appropriate manner to halt or prevent a recurrence of unreasonable noise, disorderly conduct or violations. Failing to respond within thirty minutes subjects the host or operator to the city's remedies, up to permit revocation.

Sec. 5.10.100(K) requires the written notice, covering radios, musical instruments, loudspeakers, karaoke machines, sound amplifiers and any device that produces or reproduces sound. Sec. 5.10.090(D) and (E) require the host or operator to use reasonably prudent business practices to prevent unreasonable noise in violation of PDMC Chapter 9.24 (Noise Control), and require guests to comply with Chapters 9.24 and 9.25 (Multiple Responses to Loud or Unruly Parties, Gatherings or Other Similar Events).

Sec. 5.10.090(C) requires the permit number in any advertisement in a place the city manager finds acceptable (it is read aloud in audio-only advertising). Each advertisement must identify the maximum overnight occupancy, requirements for compliance with the city's noise standards, and a statement that guests shall respect the neighbors' privacy and enjoyment of their property. Sec. 5.10.090(R) requires the host or operator to authorize each hosting platform on which the rental is listed to give the city the listing and other information showing compliance. Sec. 5.10.090(O) provides that the city will post short-term rental unit information on its website.

Sec. 5.10.100 lists the steps: meet and greet the responsible person and obtain their name, address and a copy of valid government identification; provide the Good Neighbor Brochure, information about the city's short-term rental regulations, 24-hour availability information, the maximum overnight and daytime guest counts, trash pickup day and rules, and copies of PDMC Chapters 9.24 and 9.25; require the responsible person to sign a formal acknowledgement that they are legally responsible for guest compliance (kept three years); explain that guests and owner may be cited; and post a copy of the permit and the brochure in a conspicuous place in the unit. A responsible person is a guest at least twenty-five years of age. Sec. 5.10.110 requires records the tax administrator may require to be kept three years.

Sec. 5.10.090(J) requires parking to be on site. Sec. 5.10.090(I) says no property use may cross over any property line.

Sec. 5.10.090(L) keeps trash and refuse out of public view except in proper containers on scheduled collection days and requires compliance with PDMC Chapter 8.16 (Solid Waste). Sec. 5.10.090(H) bars changing the residential character of the outside appearance by colors, materials, lighting or advertising. Sec. 5.10.090(P) bars operating the unit as any other commercial home-based business. Sec. 5.10.090(Q) requires short-term rental activity to follow the rules of a homeowners' or condominium association, and the chapter is not to be inferred to grant any permission that overrides them. Sec. 5.10.020(B) says the chapter is not intended to let an owner violate private CC&Rs. The city manager may impose additional conditions on any unit (Sec. 5.10.090(K)).

Sec. 5.10.120(D) allows an administrative citation to the property owner with a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars for a first citation, three thousand dollars for a second citation for the same offense within twelve months, and five thousand dollars plus immediate revocation of the permit for two years for a third citation within twelve months. Sec. 5.10.120(E) sets a five thousand dollar fine for the first and each additional citation for operating without a validly issued permit, and lets the city refuse a new or renewed permit for the cited property or the cited host or operator anywhere in the city. Sec. 5.10.120(F) allows infraction citations to any guest, host or operator, with fines not to exceed the same three tiers on conviction. A violation is a public nuisance subject to PDMC Chapters 9.24 and 9.25, and the city may issue notices of violation and add conditions to the unit.

Sec. 5.10.120(B) makes any violation of the chapter grounds for modification, suspension or revocation, on ten days' written notice of the time and place of the hearing, with written notice of the decision served personally or by mail. While a permit is suspended, revoked or not validly in effect, use of the dwelling as a short-term rental is prohibited. Sec. 5.10.120(B)(3) bars a new permit after revocation unless the city manager is satisfied the former holder will comply and the unit complies with Sec. 5.10.070. A third administrative citation within twelve months revokes the permit for two years (Sec. 5.10.120(D)).

Sec. 5.10.090(M) and (N) require the host or operator to comply with Chapter 3.28, including a monthly TOT return under Sec. 3.28.070 filed even if the unit was not rented that month. If a hosting platform does not collect payment for the rental, the host or operator is solely responsible for collecting and remitting the tax to the city. Upon compliance with the Greater Palm Springs Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID), the host or operator is also responsible for collecting and remitting TBID assessments. Records for determining TOT and TBID amounts must be kept for three years (Sec. 5.10.110). The rate in Chapter 3.28 and any TBID rate haven't been reviewed yet, so no combined total is shown. State law lets cities tax stays of 30 days or less (see the California section).

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.