Short-term rentals in San Leandro, explained properly.

A permit expires on December 31 of the calendar year in which it was issued or renewed, and a valid permit that has not been surrendered, suspended or revoked may be renewed for periods of no longer than one year (Sec. 4-40-170). Annual permits other than the first permit for a newly established rental are treated as issued on January 1 and expire December 31, matching business license renewals. The renewal application goes to the Finance Department before expiry with a statement of whether any Sec. 4-40-140 information has changed. The Finance Director and the Community Development Director must make the same findings as for an initial permit, and the Director may modify or delete conditions and impose new ones. If a permit is not renewed, the Director gives a written explanation and the applicant must immediately cease operating.

Sec. 4-40-140 lists: the applicant's name and the address of the dwelling unit; a driver license or State identification card; if the primary occupant is not the owner, the owner's written permission with owner contact information; photos of the smoke detector, carbon monoxide detector and fire extinguisher in the area to be rented and of egress to the building exterior; one of six documents proving primary, permanent residence; a statement of the advertising platforms to be used; a statement of the locations, recording capabilities (including sound), and number of all cameras in the dwelling unit; and a current City of San Leandro business license.

The Finance Director considers applications and may consult the Chief Building Official, Fire Marshal, Community Development Director and Police Chief (Sec. 4-40-150). The Community Development Director gives notice to adjacent property owners of an application and may refer it to the Board of Zoning Adjustments / Planning Commission, which hears it at a public hearing noticed in the same manner as Conditional Use Permits. The decision-maker may approve, disapprove or impose conditions. To approve a permit, the Community Development Director and Finance Director must find that the proposed hosted rental conforms to the Sec. 4-40-130 standards (Sec. 4-40-160).

Sec. 4-40-130(f) requires the permit holder to obtain and maintain a current Business License and pay Transient Occupancy Tax as may be required by the San Leandro Municipal Code. A current City business license is also part of the application (Sec. 4-40-140(g)). We haven't reviewed the business license or transient occupancy tax chapters, so no rate or fee is shown here. California's state rule on local lodging taxes is in the state section of this page.

Applications are submitted to the Finance Department (Sec. 4-40-140). We haven't reviewed the City's fee schedule, so no permit fee or schedule date is shown here.

Sec. 4-40-130(d). The application must include photos of the smoke detector, carbon monoxide detector and fire extinguisher in the area to be rented and of egress from the rental space to the building exterior (Sec. 4-40-140(c)).

Sec. 4-40-130(e) requires these items to be posted in a prominent place within the dwelling unit. A separate good neighbor policy must also be posted or provided (Sec. 4-40-130(h)).

Sec. 4-40-130(h). The policy must at a minimum include the maximum occupancy, smoking regulations, compliance with all laws, instructions on managing noise or any other disturbance (including the quiet and orderly arrival and departure of renters), parking restrictions, emergency procedures, neighborhood information, and property upkeep including trash disposal.

Sec. 4-40-130(i). The good neighbor policy must also cover parking restrictions (Sec. 4-40-130(h)).

Sec. 4-40-130(j) prohibits cameras, including security cameras whether or not they can record, in all bedrooms and bathrooms, and requires sound receiving or recording capabilities on all cameras to be off during a hosted short-term rental. The application must state the locations, recording capabilities and number of all cameras in the dwelling unit (Sec. 4-40-140(f)).

Sec. 4-40-130(g). The application also asks for a statement of the advertising platforms to be used (Sec. 4-40-140(e)). The state rule on booking platforms and local license numbers is in the state section of this page.

Sec. 4-41-110 lists the penalties for renting or operating a non-hosted short term rental. (a) First Notice of Violation: misdemeanor prosecuted by the City, one thousand dollars fine or six months in jail. (b) Second violation: the same fine or jail term, a declaration of public nuisance, and legal action by the City against the host or property owner to enjoin illegal use, with repayment of the City's attorneys' fees and costs. (c) Third violation within a two year period: the same fine or jail term, triple damages for a second or subsequent civil or criminal judgment within a two-year period, and repayment of attorneys' fees and costs. The City Attorney may bring an action for punitive damages for willful violation of the Code without City Council approval.

Sec. 4-40-180. Code Enforcement or the Police Department may issue notices of violation, which set out the action needed and a time frame. If the noncompliance is not corrected in that time, the Finance Director may revoke, suspend or modify the permit on seven days' notice. If the Director decides to suspend or revoke, the permit holder must stop operating immediately. Revocation is a permanent bar to obtaining any new short-term rental permit.

Sec. 4-40-190. (a) A Director's decision on a new permit may be appealed to the City Manager, whose decision is final. (b) If the application was referred to the Board of Zoning Adjustments / Planning Commission, that body's decision may be appealed to the City Manager, whose decision is final. (c) A Finance Director decision to revoke, suspend or modify a permit may be appealed to the Administrative Hearing Board under Chapter 1-12, whose decision is final; if that Board orders revocation or suspension, the permit holder must stop operating immediately.

Sec. 4-40-200.

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.