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Is a short-term rental legal in San Diego, CA?

HEAVILY REGULATED

Short-term rentals (any rental of a dwelling unit for less than one month, called Short-Term Residential Occupancy or STRO) are legal citywide in San Diego but only with a city-issued STRO license, a Transient Occupancy Tax certificate, and (if renting more than 6 days/year) a Rental Unit Business Tax account.

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Sources checked2026-07-167 open items listed below

STRO is defined as occupancy of a dwelling unit or part thereof for less than one month (SDMC 510.0102); stays of one month or longer (calendar-day-to-same-calendar-day definition) are outside the ordinance, so the exemption threshold is 'one month,' not a fixed day count. Whole-home (unhosted) rental requires a Tier 3 license (citywide, capped at 1% of total housing units excluding Mission Beach, SDMC 510.0104(d)(4), issued by lottery if demand exceeds supply) or Tier 4 in Mission Beach (capped at 30% of that community planning area's units, SDMC 510.0104(e)(4); cap reached, 0 available as of July 2, 2026). Tier 3/4 require a 2-consecutive-night minimum stay (510.0104(d)(2), (e)(2)) and minimum 90 days/year of license use with quarterly reports (510.0107(c)). Primary residence is required only for home-share tiers: Tier 1 home share and all Tier 2 must be in the host's primary residence, and Tier 2 hosts must occupy it at least 275 days/year (510.0104(b)-(c)); no primary-residence requirement for Tier 3/4. One license per host and one STRO dwelling unit per host citywide (510.0104(a), 510.0106(a)); hosts must be natural persons. Licenses are non-transferable (510.0106(e)). Ordinance applies in all zones regardless of base zoning (official City FAQ), but ADUs are prohibited as STRO except permitted companion units existing before the September 2017 prohibition; also prohibited: income-restricted affordable units, student housing/SROs, RVs/vehicles, boats, tents/temporary structures, unpermitted garage conversions, and commercial/industrial space (official City FAQ). No citywide numeric guest cap appears in SDMC Ch. 5 Art. 10; the Good Neighbor Policy notice must state the unit's maximum allowable occupants (510.0107(g)(3)). Coastal-zone provisions sunset Jan 1, 2030 unless extended (510.0112).

What you need to operate

STRO License (Tier 1, 2, 3, or 4) Effective 3/1/2025: Tier 1 $33 application + $193 license; Tier 2 $33 + $284; Tier 3 $41 + $1,129; Tier 4 $41 + $1,129 (fees non-refundable, per 2-year license term)
City of San Diego, Office of the City Treasurer
Renewal: 2 years
Required for all STRO; unlawful to operate without a license on or after May 1, 2023 (SDMC 510.0103-510.0104, O-21305/O-21464). One license per host; one dwelling unit per host; only one Tier 1 license per dwelling unit per calendar year. Tier 3/4 issued by lottery if demand exceeds supply, with waiting lists (510.0106(c)). Application requires an active TOT certificate (or concurrent application), proof of Rental Unit Business Tax payment if applicable, and proof of primary residence for home-share licenses (510.0105). Not processed if pending code enforcement or license revoked within prior 12 months.
official source
Transient Occupancy Tax Registration Certificate $0 (no fee)
City of San Diego, Office of the City Treasurer
Required for anyone renting any structure or portion for less than one month; no exceptions (official City FAQ). Certificate number must appear on all advertisements and on the required exterior notice (SDMC 510.0107(k)-(l)).
official source
Rental Unit Business Tax account $50/yr base + $5/unit for single-family/condo and 2-10 unit properties (larger complexes: $57 base + $9/unit for 11-100 units; $150 + $8/unit for 101+); late penalty $25 or 10% (greater) plus 1%/month
City of San Diego, Office of the City Treasurer
Renewal: annual
Applies to owners who rent all or part of residential property more than 6 days per calendar year (official City STRO FAQ); proof of payment required for STRO license application (SDMC 510.0105(b)(2)).
official source
Host operating requirements Cost not verified
City of San Diego (SDMC 510.0107-510.0108)
Designate a local contact who responds to complaints in person or by phone within 1 hour; post an 8.5x11 exterior notice visible from the sidewalk/right-of-way with TOT certificate number, license number, and contact info; include TOT certificate and license numbers in all ads; provide a Good Neighbor Policy notice to all guests (noise limits, parking, trash, max occupants); no business signs on premises; complete a human-trafficking awareness course and post reporting guidance in the unit; keep transaction records 4 years and produce on request; Tier 3/4 submit quarterly utilization reports; unit must comply with California Fire Code (confirmed by City inspection or host affidavit at City's discretion).
official source

The full picture

Short-term rentals (any rental of a dwelling unit for less than one month, called Short-Term Residential Occupancy or STRO) are legal citywide in San Diego but only with a city-issued STRO license, a Transient Occupancy Tax certificate, and (if renting more than 6 days/year) a Rental Unit Business Tax account. There are four license tiers: Tier 1 (any STRO totaling 20 days or less per year), Tier 2 (home share in the host's primary residence for more than 20 days/year, host present and occupying the home at least 275 days/year), Tier 3 (whole-home outside Mission Beach, capped at 1% of the city's housing stock and allocated by lottery when demand exceeds supply; 781 licenses were still available as of July 2, 2026), and Tier 4 (whole-home in Mission Beach, capped at 30% of that community's dwelling units; fully allocated with zero available as of July 2026). A host may hold only one license and operate only one dwelling unit at a time, so multi-property whole-home portfolios are effectively prohibited. Whole-home (Tier 3/4) rentals require a 2-night minimum stay and at least 90 days of rental use per year with quarterly reports. ADUs (except pre-September-2017 companion units), income-restricted units, SROs, RVs, boats, and unpermitted spaces cannot be used. Platforms may not process bookings for unlicensed listings and must report listing data to the city monthly; state law (SB 346, effective 2026) adds facilitator reporting and listing-display duties. Enforcement is active: the city obtained a stipulated judgment of up to $1.25 million against an unlicensed six-property operation in June 2026.

Taxes on guests & hosts

TaxRateApplies toPlatform collectsOfficial source
Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) 11.75% (Tax Zone 1), 12.75% (Tax Zone 2), or 13.75% (Tax Zone 3) of rent, by property location, effective May 1, 2025 under Measure C (10.50% flat through April 30, 2025) All stays of less than one month in any structure or portion, including STRO houses, condos, rooms, and spaces; zone determined by the City's address lookup map (zones tied to proximity to downtown/Convention Center) Yes source
Rental Unit Business Tax $50/year base + $5/unit (single-family/condo/2-10 units); $57 + $9/unit (11-100 units); $150 + $8/unit (101+ units) Owners renting residential property more than 6 days per calendar year; due annually; paid by the owner, not collected by platforms No source
Tourism Marketing District (TMD) assessment 2.00% Lodging businesses with 70 or more rooms only; does not apply to typical STRO hosts Not verified source

Enforcement

PenaltiesOperating STRO without a license is unlawful on or after May 1, 2023 (sandiego.gov STRO page; SDMC 510.0103). Regulatory actions under SDMC 510.0109: verbal warning, written warning, notice of violation, or license revocation (no escalation required); a third violation of the operating requirements (510.0107) within 12 months permits revocation, and a revoked host is barred from reapplying for 12 months (510.0105(d)). Noise/nuisance: administrative citations up to $1,000 each to the guest and the host (SDMC 510.0107(g)(6)). Code enforcement civil penalties may be assessed up to $10,000 per day and up to $400,000 total (City Building & Land Use Enforcement page). In practice: City Attorney secured a stipulated judgment and permanent injunction on June 9, 2026 against a six-property unlicensed operation — $100,000 civil penalties plus $6,079.88 costs upfront, an additional $1,150,000 suspended pending compliance (up to $1.25M total), and a ban on operating or applying for a license until 2028 (City press release nr260609a).
Platform liabilityUnder SDMC 510.0201 (verified code text): platforms must notify hosts of licensing and TOT requirements; must NOT process or complete any booking transaction for a unit without a valid license number listed on the City's license registry (510.0201(c)); must use reasonable efforts not to book Tier 1 hosts past the 20-day annual limit (510.0201(d)); if the platform collects rent it must collect TOT at the same time and remit monthly to the City with guest receipts separately stating TOT (510.0201(e)); must report to the City at least monthly the license number, responsible person, street address, and days booked for every listing (510.0201(f)); and must keep transaction records 4 years and produce them on request (510.0202). State law: SB 346 (2025, Ch. 751, Short-Term Rental Facilitator Act, Gov. Code sec. 50990 et seq., chaptered Oct 13, 2025) requires facilitators to report STR physical addresses/ZIP+4 (and, on request, APNs and listing URLs) to local agencies that adopt an implementing ordinance, requires listings to display any applicable local license number and TOT certification (sec. 50994), and authorizes administrative fines via Gov. Code sec. 53069.4.
NotesEnforcement is handled by the Office of the City Treasurer (licensing) and the Development Services Department's Building & Land Use Enforcement (BLUE) division, with civil prosecutions by the City Attorney's Housing Protection Unit; complaints via Get It Done, (619) 533-6489, or [email protected]. Applications are blocked for units with pending municipal-code enforcement actions (510.0105(c)).

Pending changes

  • Coastal sunset clause: the STRO definitions and tier/cap provisions (SDMC 510.0102 and 510.0104) that are part of the certified Local Coastal Program remain in effect in the Coastal Overlay Zone only until January 1, 2030; if not amended by then, the licensing requirement will no longer be in effect in the Coastal Overlay Zone (deadline extendable for good cause by the Coastal Commission's Executive Director) (SDMC 510.0112, added by O-21464) — effective-date-pending, 2030-01-01 [official]
  • Tier 3 and Tier 4 license caps recalculate every two years based on the most recent SANDAG housing estimates (1% citywide excluding Mission Beach for Tier 3; 30% of Mission Beach units for Tier 4), and cannot be reduced below the prior two-year period's total; next biennial adjustments will change available license counts — effective-date-pending [official]

What we could not verify (7)

  • Tier 3 total cap: the official STRO page shows 4,825 issued and 781 remaining as of July 2, 2026 (implying a current cap of about 5,606), but the City does not publish the cap as a single stated number on that page; the 1%-of-housing-stock formula is verified at SDMC 510.0104(d)(4).
  • TOT tax-zone boundaries (which of the 11.75%/12.75%/13.75% rates applies to a given STR) are published only via the City's interactive address-lookup map; per-address rates could not be reduced to a verifiable text rule beyond 'zones tied to proximity to downtown/Convention Center'.
  • No official schedule of STRO-specific administrative citation amounts was located beyond the up-to-$1,000 noise citation referenced in SDMC 510.0107(g)(6); the $10,000/day and $400,000 civil-penalty maxima come from the City's BLUE enforcement page without a code citation on that page.
  • Whether the City of San Diego has adopted an ordinance invoking SB 346 (Gov. Code sec. 50990 et seq.) data-sharing authority (the state law is not self-executing) was not verified against an official source.
  • SB 346 effective date of January 1, 2026 is inferred from its October 13, 2025 chaptering under California's standard effective-date rule; the leginfo bill text does not state an operative date.
  • No numeric citywide guest/occupancy cap was found in SDMC Ch. 5 Art. 10; third-party claims of a 'bedrooms + 1' or similar guest limit could not be verified in any official source and were excluded (max_guests set to null).
  • The muni code PDFs served by docs.sandiego.gov carry an (8-2022) codification date and reflect no amendments to Article 10 after O-21464 (effective 8-10-2022); no 2025-2026 STRO ordinance amendments were found, but a check of recent uncodified ordinances was not performed.

Sources

A markdown mirror of this page lives at /san-diego-ca.md for AI tools and researchers.

STRWatch publishes educational information about short-term rental regulation, checked against the official sources linked above as of the date shown. It is not legal advice, and rules change — a city can move between the times we check it. For decisions with money at stake, confirm with the authority linked above or a local attorney.