San Diego County

Operating rules

Primary residence

No

Min stay (nights)

—

Max nights / year

—

Max occupancy

—

Zoning-restricted

No

Cap on licenses

No

Zoning: As of July 2026 there is no STR-specific zoning overlay, use permit, or land-use license in the unincorporated county; STRs operate under existing residential zoning and the operator must confirm STRs are allowed in the property's zone. The county-issued TOT certificate 'is not a permit to operate.' Operators must still comply with general zoning and any other State/County permits or licenses.

• Unincorporated San Diego County has NO dedicated short-term-rental license, land-use permit, license cap, primary-residence rule, occupancy formula, or annual-night limit as of July 2026 — the only county requirement is TOT registration (obtain a Transient Occupancy Registration Certificate) plus collection/remittance of 8% TOT. Verified against the County TTC pages, the full Ordinance No. 10366 text, and multiple 2026 operator guides.
• This record covers ONLY the UNINCORPORATED county. The City of San Diego (STRO ordinance/license with caps) and other incorporated cities such as Del Mar, Encinitas, Coronado, Oceanside, and Escondido each have their own separate STR ordinances, licenses, and caps that do NOT apply in unincorporated areas and are out of scope here.
• The May 2026 'crackdown' reported for Fallbrook, Bonsall and Rainbow (Village News, 2026-05-21) is TAX registration/enforcement (the Host Compliance portal + TOT reporting that began July 2024), NOT a new land-use STR ordinance. No dedicated unincorporated-area STR land-use ordinance has been adopted as of this record; recommend periodic re-check of County Planning & Development Services / Board of Supervisors actions.

Enforcement

Active enforcement

yes

Fines

Delinquent TOT incurs a 5% penalty of the tax due (Sec. 22.208(a)); continued delinquency past the first day of the next calendar month adds a further 5% of the unpaid tax (Sec. 22.208(b)); fraud results in a 25% penalty (Sec. 22.208(c)); plus interest of 1% per month (or portion of a month) on the unpaid tax (Sec. 22.208(d)). Penalties and interest merge with the tax due (Sec. 22.208(e)). Operating a hotel/rental for more than 30 days without the required registration certificate is unlawful (Sec. 22.206(b)); the enumerated violations (failing to file, collect, or pay tax; filing a false/fraudulent return) are unlawful under Sec. 22.216. The Tax Collector may record a tax lien and pursue warrants/seizure (Sec. 22.213).

Notes

The county launched a third-party TOT registration/compliance monitoring platform ('Host Compliance') with registration opening June 11, 2024 and reporting beginning July 1, 2024 (Q4 FY2023-24), and requires operators previously registered outside the portal to re-register to be considered compliant — indicating active tax-side monitoring (confirmed by TTC Host Compliance page and Village News 2026-05-21 reporting a Fallbrook/Bonsall/Rainbow enforcement push). There is no dedicated STR land-use enforcement program because no STR permit exists in the unincorporated county; enforcement centers on TOT registration and payment.