Mission Viejo, California

Short-term rentals are legal in Mission Viejo but require registration, and the biggest practical constraint for investors comes from homeowners associations rather than the city. Operators must obtain a Short-Term Rental permit from the city’s Planning and Community Development Department, reported to cost $250 and reportedly renewable every two years, plus hold a separate city business license. The application requires a letter describing the proposed use, a floor plan, a blank lease agreement, and proof of ownership; the city rolled out an online registration portal in 2025.

STRs are allowed citywide, and as of 2025 the city has not imposed a cap on the number of permits. Operational rules include quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., adequate on-site parking, and occupancy aligned with residential norms (commonly cited as roughly two adults per bedroom). Operators must collect and remit the city’s Transient Occupancy Tax of 8.0% on stays of 30 consecutive days or less, with quarterly remittance, confirmed by the city’s official TOT page and municipal code Chapter 3.25. There is no owner-occupancy requirement and no stated cap on maximum nights per year. Enforcement is rated moderate and complaint-based, with the city adding monitoring software in 2025 to improve tax collection. Critically, many Mission Viejo neighborhoods are governed by HOAs that may impose stricter rules than the city, up to a complete prohibition of short-term rentals, so city permission alone does not guarantee an STR is allowed at a given address.