Short-term rental rules · Yucca Valley, California
Short-term rentals in Yucca Valley, explained properly.
The Town of Yucca Valley, in San Bernardino County, California, requires a Temporary Short-Term Vacation Rental Permit under Chapter 5.40 of its Town Code before anyone rents or advertises a detached single-family home or habitable accessory structure for 30 consecutive days or less. The permit incorporates the business license and transient occupancy permit, is issued to the owner and lasts up to four years. Permits are capped at 10% of the Town's detached single-family homes, with a waiting list once the cap is reached. Occupancy and vehicle totals depend on bedroom count, a local contact must answer within 15 minutes and be on site within 30 minutes, noise monitoring equipment is required, and fines start at $1,500. This page covers the Town of Yucca Valley only. We haven't reviewed the zoning chapters, the transient occupancy tax chapter or the fee schedule yet, so confirm zoning, HOA rules and fees with the Town before you buy.
At a glance
What you need to know before you buy or list
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Are short-term rentals allowed? | Conditional: allowed only with a Town Temporary Short-Term Vacation Rental Permit, only in detached single-family homes and habitable accessory structures, and only while permits are under a cap of 10% of the Town's detached single-family homes; the zoning chapters haven't been reviewed [1] ClauseConfirming |
| Is a Town short-term vacation rental permit required? | Yes: a Temporary Short-Term Vacation Rental Permit, a business registration certification and a transient occupancy tax certificate are needed before renting or advertising; the permit incorporates the business license and transient occupancy permit [1] Clause |
| Is there a cap on the number of permits? | Yes: permits may not exceed 10% of the Town's official inventory of detached single-family homes; once the cap is reached, complete applications go on a waiting list in the order received [1] Clause |
| Must the owner live at the property? | No: the owner may name an authorized agent or representative and a local contact person who must be reachable 24 hours a day and on site within 30 minutes; the owner stays personally responsible [1] Clause |
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Detailed rules
The full picture, section by section
Permit and license process
| How long is a permit valid? | Up to 4 years (Sec. 5.40.040(B)); each permit expires on the date printed on it, and an expired permit cannot be renewed [1] ClauseConfirming A renewal application is evaluated under the chapter (Sec. 5.40.040(B)), and no renewal application can be processed if the permit expired before the renewal was filed (Sec. 5.40.140). The conditions-of-approval text the owner must agree to (Sec. 5.40.110(E)(2)) still refers to a 24-month approval period effective December 1, 2017, says the Town may close the short-term vacation rental program at any time and is not obliged to renew. That conflicts with the 4-year maximum in Secs. 5.40.020 and 5.40.040(B), so the term is marked for review. |
|---|---|
| Can a permit be transferred to a new owner? | Conditional: a permit can be transferred only if it hasn't expired, no verifiable complaints have been made, the buyer has paid all fees and filed all application materials, and both parties file a notarized acknowledgment; elsewhere the chapter says the permit expires on a change of ownership [1] ClauseConfirming Sec. 5.40.170 sets the four conditions. Sec. 5.40.040(B) says permits are not transferable unless transferred under Sec. 5.40.170 and do not run with the land. Sec. 5.40.050(D) requires the permit holder to notify the Town within 14 days of a change of ownership and says the permit immediately expires on the change of ownership, and the conditions text in Sec. 5.40.110(E)(2) says the permit is not transferrable. Because those passages cannot be reconciled with Sec. 5.40.170 from the text alone, this rule is marked for review. |
| Can a duplex, condominium or recreation vehicle be used as a short-term rental? | No: only a detached single-family home or a habitable residential accessory structure qualifies [1] Clause The definition of a short-term vacation rental excludes a duplex, condominium, tent, recreation vehicle, teepee or any other structure or vehicle not built and permitted as a detached habitable single-family home or habitable residential accessory structure (Sec. 5.40.020). An accessory structure must sit on a parcel with a primary use, or on a parcel next to one under common ownership (Sec. 5.40.070(D)). |
| Is a parcel limited to one permit? | Yes: several eligible single-family structures on a parcel may be rented under no more than one permit, and an eligible dwelling or accessory structure is not permitted more than one permit regardless of the number of parcels [1] Clause Sec. 5.40.070(B) and (D). The wording of subsection (D) does not say whether the limit counts per structure or per owner, so confirm with the Town how it counts permits for owners with several parcels. |
| How is a permit applied for? | In person only, by appointment booked at least 30 days ahead, with a complete application, a nuisance response plan, proof of insurance and a notarized acknowledgment; the fee is set by Town Council resolution [1] Clause The application lists the owner, agent and 24-hour local contact, address and parcel number, listing sites, bedroom count and occupancy, square footage, parking diagram, pools and spas, proof of insurance for the structure as a short-term vacation rental, and copies of the business registration and transient occupancy tax applications (Sec. 5.40.050(A)). Applications by mail or email are not accepted. A missing nuisance response plan means denial and the applicant must start again; a plan that falls short means denial and no resubmission for the same property within 12 months (Sec. 5.40.080(A)). An application may be denied if a permit for the same unit was revoked in the past 12 calendar months. An incomplete application is flagged after 30 days and is abandoned if not completed within 45 days (Sec. 5.40.150). A change of agent or other material fact needs a new application and fee within 14 days (Sec. 5.40.050(D)). |
| Are neighbors told when a permit is approved? | Yes: after approval the Director sends notice to all property owners and tenants within 300 feet, with the name, email and phone number of the local contact person [1] Clause Sec. 5.40.070(C). If verifiable complaints come in, the Director may call a review meeting and must give the owner and all property owners within 300 feet at least 20 days' notice; the owner's attendance is mandatory (Sec. 5.40.130). |
| Does a Town permit override HOA rules or CC&Rs? | No: the chapter gives no right to break private CC&Rs that prohibit short-term vacation rentals [1] Clause Sec. 5.40.010. The application asks for the contact name and phone number of the homeowners association, if applicable (Sec. 5.40.050(A)(5)). State law on HOAs is covered in the California section of this page. |
| What does a permit cost? | Set by Town Council resolution; the application, amended nuisance response plan, waitlist and appeal fee amounts haven't been reviewed yet [1] ClauseConfirming The chapter says the application fee is set by resolution (Sec. 5.40.050(B)), as are the amended nuisance response plan fee (Sec. 5.40.080(B)), the waitlist fee (Sec. 5.40.160) and the appeal fee (Sec. 5.40.110(A)). The fee schedule and its effective date haven't been reviewed yet. |
Operating rules
| Is there an occupancy limit? | Yes: by bedroom count; overnight (10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.) totals run from 2 for a studio to 14 for 6 or 7 bedrooms, and daytime (7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.) totals run from 8 to 20; the overnight totals may not be exceeded [1] Clause Sec. 5.40.060(B) table (overnight total / daytime total, each for occupants and vehicles): studio 2 / 8; 1 bedroom 4 / 8; 2 bedrooms 6 / 8; 3 bedrooms 8 / 12; 4 bedrooms 10 / 16; 5 bedrooms 12 / 18; 6 bedrooms 14 / 20; 7 bedrooms 14 / 20. Daytime totals may be exceeded temporarily only for guests of a permitted special event under Sec. 9.38.020 of the Development Code. A bedroom is a private sleeping room of at least 70 square feet; kitchens, bathrooms, living rooms, dens, dining areas and similar spaces do not count. Only the occupants who leased the unit and their guests may be on the premises during the lease. An occupant is anyone aged 2 or older who stays overnight (Sec. 5.40.020). |
|---|---|
| What parking is required? | On site only, and no more vehicles than the bedroom table allows; the surface must be dustproof (pavement, slag, gravel or similar) [1] Clause Sec. 5.40.060(K) refers to the vehicle limits in the Sec. 5.40.060(B) table. The application includes a diagram or photographs showing designated on-site parking spaces and the maximum number of vehicles for overnight occupants (Sec. 5.40.050(A)(10)). |
| Is a local contact person required? | Yes: available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week while the unit is rented, answering by phone or text within 15 minutes and on site within 30 minutes [1] Clause Sec. 5.40.060(C) and the definition in Sec. 5.40.020. The contact's name, email and 24-hour phone number go on the application and on the notice sent to neighbors. The owner, agent or contact must report to the Director, within 5 business days of the second occurrence, the name, violation, date and time for each person involved in two or more disorderly conduct activities, disturbances or other violations (Sec. 5.40.060(H)). |
| What are the quiet hours? | No sound equipment may be used outside or be audible from outside the unit between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. [1] Clause Sec. 5.40.060(E). Separately, loud, excessive or intrusive noise that disturbs a reasonable person is unlawful at any hour, judged by a reasonable-person standard. |
| Is noise monitoring equipment required? | Yes: Noise Aware hardware and software, or an equivalent or better system, installed before operations and as near to abutting property lines as possible; the data must be given to the Town immediately on request [1] Clause Sec. 5.40.060(E)(4). The notice posted in the unit must say that noise monitoring equipment is installed (Sec. 5.40.060(R)(9)). |
| Must an advertisement show the permit number? | Yes: the current permit number must appear in or on every advertisement (read aloud in audio-only ads); the only sign allowed on the property is one unlighted identification sign of 2 square feet or less per street frontage [1] Clause Sec. 5.40.060(P) and (J). Off-site directional signs and for-sale or advertising signs are prohibited. Outdoor lighting must be fully shielded so no light crosses onto an abutting property, with certification before permit approval (Sec. 5.40.060(Q)). |
| What must guests be given and what must be posted? | Before occupancy the owner, agent or contact must get the responsible person's details (an occupant aged 21 or older), hand over the good neighbor brochure, brief them on the rules and get signed acknowledgments kept for 3 years; a notice must be posted in the unit by the front door [1] Clause Sec. 5.40.060(F), (L) and (R). The posted notice must show the manager's name and 24-hour phone number, the maximum occupants and vehicles, trash arrangements, a violation and enforcement warning, utility shut-off valve locations, emergency phone numbers, a property boundary map and the noise monitoring notice. A copy of the permit and the good neighbor brochure must also be posted inside the unit. Trash must be kept in proper containers and out of public view except on collection days (Sec. 5.40.060(I)). |
| Must the host comply with the Town's transient occupancy tax chapter? | Yes: comply with Chapter 3.24, including filing a return every month even if the unit was not rented, and keep tax records for 3 years [1] Clause Sec. 5.40.060(M) and Sec. 5.40.100. The permit incorporates the transient occupancy permit and business license (Sec. 5.40.020). The tax rate and due dates are in Chapter 3.24, which we haven't reviewed yet, so no tax figure is shown. |
Penalties & enforcement
| What are the fines? | At a minimum: $1,500 for a first verified operational violation, $3,500 for a second within 12 months and $5,000 for a third within 12 months [1] Clause Sec. 5.40.120. In addition to the fines, the Director may seek to add conditions, suspend or revoke the permit. Violations are also grounds for modification, suspension or revocation of the permit and any affiliated licenses, in addition to public nuisance procedures (Sec. 5.40.110(D)); the conditions of approval mention operational penalties, infraction citations and misdemeanor citations. |
|---|---|
| Can a permit be suspended or revoked? | Yes: after a hearing before the Town Manager with at least 20 days' notice, whose decision is final; the Director can also add conditions after 10 days' notice, appealable within 10 days [1] Clause Sec. 5.40.110. The Town Manager decides within 10 days of the end of the hearing and may approve the suspension or revocation, modify the permit's conditions or reject the request. Violations by occupants, the responsible party, the owner or the agent are grounds. Verified trespass by guests onto neighboring property may lead to suspension or revocation. Failure of the owner to attend a Director's meeting results in a suspension or revocation hearing (Sec. 5.40.130). |
State law that also applies
| Who sets lodging taxes on short stays in California? | Each city or county: state law lets them levy a transient occupancy tax on stays of 30 days or less [2] Clause 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. |
|---|---|
| Can cities make booking platforms report rentals and show local license numbers? | Yes, where the city or county opts in by ordinance (Short-Term Rental Facilitator Act of 2025, in force January 1, 2026) [3] Clause 1 Clause 2 Clause 3 Clause 4 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. |
| Short-term rentals in ADUs and junior ADUs under state law | Junior ADUs, and ADUs approved under the state's by-right path, must be rented for more than 30 days; for other ADUs a city may require 30-day-plus rentals [4] [5] [6] Clause 1 Clause 2 Clause 3 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. |
| Can an HOA or condo association ban short-term rentals? | Yes: associations may prohibit rentals of 30 days or less, though they cannot ban or unreasonably restrict longer rentals [7] Clause 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. |
| Are short-stay guests covered by California landlord-tenant law? | Not by the Civil Code chapter on renting homes while the stay is subject to a local occupancy tax [8] Clause 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. |
| Short-term rental rules in the coastal zone | Local short-term rental rules in the coastal zone go through the local coastal program or a coastal development permit; the Coastal Commission has not supported blanket bans [9] Clause 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. |
Changes
Recent and pending changes
We read Chapter 5.40 (Temporary Short-Term Vacation Rental Permit) of the Yucca Valley Town Code on American Legal Publishing as captured on October 18, 2026; the library lists the code as current through Ordinance 332 (November 11, 2025), and every section's history note shows Ordinance 312 (March 5, 2024). The code title page also lists ordinances pending review for codification, so a recent amendment may not be in the text yet. We haven't reviewed the zoning chapters, the transient occupancy tax chapter (3.24), the fee resolution or Town Council agendas yet, so we cannot say whether a change is pending.
Sources
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This page is general information compiled from public sources, not legal or tax advice. HOA rules, deed restrictions and zoning for a specific property can be stricter. Confirm with the local permitting office and a qualified professional before buying or listing a property.