Short-term rentals in Redding, explained properly.

Subsection F(2)(b) says the total number of vacation rentals in the City shall not exceed four hundred rentals at any one time. The cap is in the vacation rental subsection; the hosted homestay subsection does not mention it. How the City tracks the count or handles a waiting list is not shown here.

Subsection F(2)(a)(2) bars a vacation rental within a six hundred foot radius of an existing permitted vacation rental. At the discretion of the director or appellate body, the radius can be three hundred feet when a buffer such as an arterial, rail right-of-way, flood control channel, stream corridor or open space easement lies between the vacation rental units. Under subsection F(2)(j), an apartment unit or duplex in the Downtown Redding Specific Plan area may be a vacation rental; on a parcel in the Core District the spacing rule does not apply, and on a Mixed-Use District parcel next to a Residential Single-Family District it applies only as measured to vacation rentals in that Single-Family District.

Subsection F(2)(a)(1) says a vacation rental shall not be permitted on a property containing an accessory dwelling unit with a building permit application submitted on or after January 1, 2020 in compliance with Government Code Section 66323. The clause is tied to that date; how the section treats a property whose accessory dwelling unit was applied for earlier is not shown here. See also the California rules above on short-term rentals in accessory dwelling units.

The definitions of a hosted homestay and a vacation rental in subsection B each exclude apartment units and duplexes. Subsection F(2)(j), notwithstanding the vacation rental definition, says an apartment unit or duplex located in the Downtown Redding Specific Plan area may be permitted as a vacation rental, subject to listed relief from parking, advertising, spacing and vehicle-record requirements for parcels in the Core District and for legal nonconforming uses in the Mixed-Use District. A hosted homestay in an apartment unit or duplex is not covered by that exception.

Subsection E(15) says a City business license shall be obtained and transient occupancy taxes paid in accordance with Chapter 4.12 as required, and all advertising for any short-term rental must include the business license number assigned to the applicant. The business license chapter and its fee have not been reviewed yet, so the fee is not shown here. Subsection F(1) applies this requirement to vacation rentals as well as hosted homestays.

Subsection E(16) says the permit is not transferrable to a subsequent property owner or to another property. Subsection F(1) applies this requirement to vacation rentals.

Subsection E(17) says the section does not waive the rights and obligations of any homeowner's association member to comply with or enforce CC&Rs, and no permit shall be issued when it is demonstrated by substantial evidence that issuance of a permit will be in contradiction to any recorded CC&Rs or other record providing record notice of a restriction on the use of the property. See also the California rules above on associations.

Subsections C(1) and G(1) say applicants pay an application fee established by resolution of the City Council. We haven't reviewed the fee schedule yet, so no amount or effective date is given.

For a site development permit, subsection G(1) requires notice of the vacation rental application to all owners of real property within six hundred feet of the applicant's property for a ten business day notification period. Subsection F(2)(h) requires a physical inspection of the dwelling unit and property by City staff before a permit is issued. In deciding an application or renewal, the director or appellate body may consider any factor pertinent to the health, safety and welfare of the neighborhood or public, including the ability to comply with the section, evidence of operation in violation, neighbor complaints, code enforcement activity, timeliness of business permit renewal, timeliness or non-payment of transient occupancy tax, and proximity to group homes and residential care facilities. An appeal of an approval or denial follows Section 18.11.090 with a ten business day appeal period. Section 18.11.090 and Chapter 18.11 have not been reviewed yet.

Subsection E(4) says the owner shall be the applicant and, other than for purposes of daily routines, must occupy the residence at all times when rooms are being provided for rent. A hosted homestay is defined as an owner-occupied dwelling unit with more than one habitable room. Subsection F(1) lifts subsections E(1) to E(6) for vacation rentals, so this requirement is for the hosted type; see the vacation rental owner rule for the entire-home case.

Subsections E(1) and E(2) limit a hosted homestay to one dwelling unit on a lot at any one time and a maximum of two rooms for rent at any time, with a floor plan submitted with the affidavit showing the rooms for rent. Subsection F(1) lifts subsections E(1) to E(6) for vacation rentals.

Subsection E(3) limits occupancy to a maximum of two persons per rented bedroom and limits the rental to one hundred eighty rental days per calendar year. Subsection F(1) lifts subsections E(1) to E(6) for vacation rentals, so the 180-day limit is written for the hosted type; the vacation rental subsection sets its own occupancy limits.

Subsection E(6) says that, except as set forth in Section 18.43.060 as it relates to licensed bed and breakfast inns, no owner shall cook, prepare or serve for consumption food of any kind for consumption by the short-term-rental tenant. Subsection F(1) lifts subsections E(1) to E(6) for vacation rentals.

Subsection E(3) (hosted homestay) and subsection F(2)(f) (vacation rental) limit occupancy to a maximum of two persons per rented bedroom. Subsection F(2)(g) limits the maximum number of persons on a vacation rental property at any time to sixteen persons. A vacation rental may not be rented to multiple separate parties concurrently (F(2)(d)).

Subsection E(7) says the applicant states the number of on-site spaces available to tenants, but in no case fewer than two. Tenant parking must be in the primary driveway or another on-site location, no tenant may park on the street, and converting significant front yard landscape to meet parking is not allowed. Subsection E(8) says required spaces, including garage spaces identified at approval, must be accessible to tenants at all times during rentals. Subsection F(2)(j)(1) lifts E(7), E(8), E(10)(b), E(14) and F(2)(i) for vacation rentals in apartment units or duplexes on a parcel in the Downtown Redding Specific Plan Core District, and F(2)(j)(3) lifts the off-street parking requirements for a legal nonconforming apartment or duplex use in the Mixed-Use District.

Subsection E(11) says the property shall not be used to host non-applicant related weddings, parties, and other similar events. It applies to hosted homestays and, through subsection F(1), to vacation rentals.

Subsection E(10) requires the applicant to post emergency evacuation instructions and house policies within each tenant bedroom, include the house policies in the rental agreement and enforce them. The policies should reinforce the City noise standards (Section 18.40.100) by setting outdoor quiet hours between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., during which outdoor activities are prohibited, and should require tenant vehicles to be parked on the premises and not on the street.

Subsection F(2)(e) says the applicant keeps on file with the City the name, telephone number and email address of a local contact person, posts that information in a conspicuous location in the dwelling, and keeps it current. The contact must be available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week to accept messages and respond physically to the vacation rental within forty-five minutes if necessary. The contact's name and information will be made available to the public.

Subsection E(12) prohibits on-site advertising signs or displays indicating the residence is a short-term rental. Subsection E(13) prohibits advertising on any media platform with an inaccurate or misleading statement of the requirements of, or amenities not allowed by, the Redding Municipal Code, including the number of parking spaces. Subsection E(14) requires all advertisements to include the number of permissible parking spaces, and E(15) requires the City transient occupancy tax number and business license number. The parking-space advertising requirement is lifted for vacation rentals in apartments or duplexes in the Downtown Redding Specific Plan Core District (F(2)(j)(1)).

Subsection E(9) says short-term rentals shall meet all applicable building, health, fire and related safety codes at all times, including provision of working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. A vacation rental also gets a physical City inspection before its permit is issued.

Subsection F(2)(i) says each operator shall maintain a record of each tenant's vehicle or vehicles showing at least the rental period, license plate, make, model and color, available to the City at any time on request. The requirement is lifted for vacation rentals in apartments or duplexes in the Downtown Redding Specific Plan Core District and for legal nonconforming uses in the Mixed-Use District.

Subsection J says enforcement of the section includes the civil and equitable remedies permitted by state law, the issuance of a citation and fine, or other legal remedy as provided by Chapters 1.12 through 1.15 of the Redding Municipal Code. On notification by the City, any short-term rental operating in violation must terminate operations immediately. Chapters 1.12 to 1.15 have not been reviewed yet, so fine amounts are not shown here.

Subsection H(1) says the director or appellate body applies the criteria in G(2), the same factors considered when deciding applications, in deciding whether to suspend or terminate a permit, with notice under Section 18.11.060. A vacation rental suspension or termination is appealed under Section 18.11.090. A hosted homestay suspension or termination is appealed to the planning commission within ten calendar days of service of the director's decision, then to the city council within ten calendar days of the commission's decision; council decisions are final. Subsection J says a Site Development Permit may be revoked under the procedures in Chapter 18.11, which has not been reviewed yet.

Subsection I says continuation and abandonment of legal nonconforming short-term rentals are not governed by Section 18.46.020. The sole allowances for continuation are timely renewal of a valid and current permit, a temporary hardship allowance of not more than six months (medical condition or death of a spouse, domestic partner or immediate family member of the permittee), or a long-term rental allowance if the permittee provides proof of a long-term lease of twelve months or longer before the permit expires. A long-term rental allowance may be repeated and cannot exceed the lease term or twenty-four months, whichever is shorter; the director treats the permit as active only so the permittee can reapply afterward.

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.