Santa Rosa, California

Santa Rosa requires a Short-Term Rental Permit for any dwelling rented for fewer than 30 days, issued only to the property owner and renewed annually. Permits fall into two categories. Hosted STRs, where the owner lives and sleeps on the parcel as their principal residence occupied more than half the year, are allowed citywide with no cap. Non-hosted STRs, where the owner is absent, are capped at 182 permits citywide; the city is not accepting new non-hosted applications, an owner may hold only one, and any new non-hosted permit would need to sit 1,000 feet or more from another existing or proposed non-hosted STR. Operators must register for the city’s 11% Transient Occupancy Tax plus a 3% Tourism Business Improvement Area assessment, and, beginning January 2025 under voter-approved Ballot Measure EE, obtain a Business Tax Certificate. Permits are non-transferable except to a spouse or domestic partner, not to children. Enforcement is strict: a tiered penalty schedule distinguishes minor and major violations, and after three citations the permit is revoked with the owner permanently ineligible. STRs may not operate in affordable housing, accessory dwelling units, student housing, senior housing, or temporary structures. This is effectively a closed market for investor-style non-hosted STRs; new entrants are largely limited to hosted, owner-occupied arrangements.