Short-term rentals in San Bernardino County, explained properly.

Sec. 84.28.060(b) bases the limit on the number of bedrooms, verified from County Assessor data and building records. Kitchens, bathrooms, living rooms, dens, dining areas, halls, closets and utility spaces do not count as bedrooms. An occupant is a person who will stay overnight. The maximum occupancy on the permit is the number approved. Whatever the bedroom count, no STR may exceed 12 occupants, and use is also limited by the capacity of on-site parking spaces under the parking standard.

Sec. 84.28.060(c): garage, carport and driveway spaces count and tandem parking is allowed. Parking areas must be kept free of obstructions, including excessive snow. Only the approved parking areas or spaces on the STR permit may be used, and the permit and notices state the maximum number of vehicles. Towing may be a remedy for parking violations, to the extent permitted by law (Sec. 84.28.080(a)(2)).

Sec. 84.28.070(g): the owner or agent must be reachable by phone 24 hours a day, make contact within 30 minutes and be at the property within one hour. Within one hour of a complaint the owner confirms whether it is valid and, if so, takes immediate corrective action, which may include evicting renters and calling law enforcement where lawful. Threats to public health and safety must go at once to the appropriate law enforcement, fire or other authority. The owner keeps a written record of complaint times, type, response and resolution, available to the County on request and kept for the permit term. The County runs a 24/7 STR complaint line, whose number is on the notice sent to neighbors (Sec. 84.28.050(b)(2)).

Sec. 84.28.070(e): the permit is posted inside the unit on or adjacent to the front door with an exit and evacuation map, plus a prominent notice with the unit address, the 24-hour contact, the maximum overnight occupants and vehicles, a snow removal contact, trash instructions, a warning that violations can bring criminal, civil or administrative enforcement, utility shutoff locations, emergency phone numbers and a property boundary and parking map. Sec. 84.28.070(c): before occupancy the owner reviews the STR regulations with at least one adult renter, gives the renter a written or digital copy of the permit requirements and penalties, and keeps the renter's signed acknowledgment for the permit term; the County may require in-person registration if the owner fails to give adequate directions or confirm acknowledgment. Sec. 84.28.070(b) requires records proving compliance, ready to give to the County, and Sec. 84.28.070(f) requires a good-neighbor brochure or document.

Sec. 84.28.070(d) bars advertising that promotes a STR for a use that is not permitted, and bars advertising (including internet pages, web-based ads and rental platforms) before a permit is approved or while it is suspended or revoked, to the extent provided by law. Every advertisement for a permitted STR must specify the maximum permitted number of occupants and vehicles. Sec. 84.28.110(c) requires a hosting platform to display the County STR permit number on any listing in unincorporated San Bernardino County.

Sec. 84.28.110: a platform that collects payment collects and remits the uniform transient occupancy tax and is the owner's agent for that purpose; when the County asks, it discloses in a commonly used electronic format the address of each STR in unincorporated San Bernardino County listed on the platform, the persons responsible for each listing, the length of stay and the price paid for each stay; and it displays the County permit number on each listing. A platform operating exclusively on the internet that complies with these duties is presumed to be in compliance with the chapter, but remains responsible for the administrative subpoena provisions. The section does not apply if the County determines it is violated by or preempted by state or federal law. Under Sec. 84.28.080(c) the County may issue an administrative subpoena, which cannot require production sooner than 30 calendar days after service; the recipient may seek judicial review in that period.

Sec. 84.28.070(a) says a STR may not be used for any occupancy other than the purposes in the chapter, or for any commercial activity, including weddings, receptions, corporate retreats, business meetings or conferences, filming, photography shoots, parties or similar activities, unless regulated under an applicable approved County-issued permit. The definition in Sec. 84.28.030(i) uses similar words and adds fraternity parties.

Sec. 84.28.070(i) lists examples (shouting, loud laughter, singing, instruments, loud music or amplified sound, barking dogs) and the factors considered: level of noise, ambient noise, proximity to the reporting party, time of day or night, duration, whether the noise is constant, recurrent or intermittent, and whether a mechanical or electronic device makes it. The owner must tell renters not to violate noise or parking standards or create a nuisance (Sec. 84.28.070(h)). The chapter applies the reasonable-person test.

Sec. 84.28.070(j) and (k): solid fuel burning outdoor fireplaces, chimineas, barbeques and fire pits are prohibited in the Mountain Region; the interior and exterior must be kept free of hazardous conditions; spas and hot tubs are covered and locked when not in use and cleaned as often as needed. Every STR is cleaned after each occupancy change, linens (if provided) are replaced after each occupancy, and the exterior is kept free of debris. Sec. 84.28.060(a) makes the owner responsible for compliance with the California Fire Code, California Building Code and other adopted codes.

Sec. 84.28.070(l): in the Mountain Region owners use animal-proof containers (unless the County-approved hauler discourages them), buy service from the County-approved hauler when available and set up pull-out service when available; in the Desert Region owners buy hauler service and containers when available, except that service and containers are optional if the owner resides on the STR property and removes trash promptly. Containers must be sufficient for the permitted occupancy. Sec. 84.28.070(m): a dog kept at a STR needs proof of a current license, animals may not run at large, and a dog taken off the property must be leashed or enclosed in a vehicle or cage.

Sec. 84.28.080: violations may bring remedial action by County staff or an enforcement officer without notice if notice is not reasonable given the need for immediate action, or if earlier notice has not produced a fix. Remedial actions other than criminal citations can be appealed under Title 1, Division 1, Chapter 2, but an appeal does not stay them. Owners and renters must comply with the chapter and other County Code and law. The fine and penalty provisions of Title 1 haven't been reviewed yet, so this page gives no fine amounts. Using a hosting platform does not relieve an owner of liability for failing to pay the lodging tax.

Suspension (Sec. 84.28.090): a violation of Title 6 (building regulations) or a failure to comply with or respond to a County notice can suspend the permit, with notice by certified and first class mail. The property cannot be used as a STR while a permit is suspended or stayed. An appeal must be filed within ten calendar days after the suspension notice; building-related suspensions go to the Building Appeals Board and general ones to a County hearing officer, whose decision is final within the County. Revocation (Sec. 84.28.100) may follow a violation severe enough to require immediate vacation, a suspension not fixed within 60 calendar days of becoming final, a recurrence within 12 months, two suspensions in a consecutive 24-month period, fraud or deceit, or a permit issued in error. No application is allowed within 12 months after a revocation becomes final.

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.