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California · Santa Monica

Santa Monica

city Restricted Needs review · last verified 2026-07-15

Santa Monica permits only "home-sharing" and categorically prohibits "vacation rentals." Under the Home-Sharing Ordinance (Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 6.20, added by Ordinance No. 2484(CCS) adopted May 12, 2015, effective June 12, 2015; amended by ordinances adopted Jan 24, 2017, Jun 27, 2017, and Sep 24, 2019; administrative Rules & Regulations last revised Nov 21, 2019), a rental of 30 consecutive days or less is legal ONLY as a home-share — the rental of one or more bedrooms in the host's on-site primary residence, with the host living on-site throughout each visitor's stay. Renting a unit for exclusive transient use with no on-site host (the standard whole-home/unhosted Airbnb model) is a prohibited "vacation rental" and remains banned citywide. To operate a home-share, a host must obtain and continuously maintain BOTH a City home-sharing permit and a home-sharing business license (applied for together through one application). The permit and business license expire at midnight on the June 30 succeeding issuance and must be renewed annually (renew by July 1). NOTE ON FEES: the City's current published application fee schedule (santamonica.gov how-to-apply page) shows a total initial "Potential Total Amount Due" of $582.25 — Home-Share Review Fee $458.40 + Minimum License Tax $75.00 + Processing Fee $44.85 + CASp (state disability-access) fee $4.00. This SUPERSEDES the $100 initial / $50 renewal figures stated in the 2019 Rules & Regulations, which expressly warned the fee "may be increased in the future by Council resolution"; a current renewal-specific fee amount is not separately published and is unverified. Key limits: host must be the property's primary resident and live on-site during stays; one home-share per host citywide; no more than two listings per hosting platform; no more than two groups of visitors booked per date; occupancy capped at the lesser of 10 persons, 1 person per 200 sq ft, or 2 persons (excluding minor children) per bedroom; visitor-vehicle caps (1 per rented bedroom, or 2 in a preferential-parking zone using visitor permits); $500,000 liability insurance (deemed satisfied when listing/booking only through Airbnb or HomeAway/VRBO, the only platforms stated to provide equal-or-greater coverage). Hosts must collect and remit the City Transient Occupancy Tax of 17% on home-shares (effective March 1, 2023; hotels/motels are 15%) under SMMC Chapter 6.68. There is NO annual night cap and NO minimum-stay requirement for compliant hosted home-sharing. Enforcement is by citation under SMMC 6.20.100 (fine, penalty, or imprisonment); two final citations trigger a 30-day suspension (or as long as at least one citation remains open, whichever is longer) and three or more trigger revocation; appeals run through SMMC Chapter 6.16.

Not legal advice. Last verified 2026-07-15 · sources linked below.

Requirements checklist

  • city Home-Sharing Permit Required
    Fee: $582.25 / initial application (combined permit + business license, total) · Renewal: Annual. Permit and business license expire at midnight on the June 30 succeeding issuance and must be renewed by July 1. Renewal fee amount is NOT verified: the 2019 Rules & Regulations stated a $50 non-refundable renewal fee, but no current renewal-specific fee is published on a live City source and it may have increased by Council resolution. · Applies to: Any host operating a home-share (rental of 30 consecutive days or less of one or more bedrooms in the host's on-site primary residence). Unhosted / whole-home 'vacation rentals' are prohibited and cannot be permitted. · official page ↗
  • city Home-Sharing Business License Required
    Fee: $75 / annual (minimum business license tax) · Renewal: Annual, renewed together with the home-sharing permit; valid through June 30, renew by July 1. Renewal fee amount unverified (see permit). · Applies to: Every home-share host; issued together with the home-sharing permit through one application. · official page ↗
  • city Proof of primary residency (two documents) Required
    Fee: — · Renewal: Re-affirmed/updated at each annual renewal; amended application required within 30 days of any material change. · Applies to: Each proposed host must document that the home-share is their primary residence with two qualifying documents (CA DMV vehicle registration; CA driver's license/ID; CA voter registration; income tax return; current property tax bill showing homeowner's exemption; or an original City of Santa Monica water, SoCalGas, or SCE utility bill — cable/cell/internet bills do not qualify). Non-owner hosts must additionally prove long-term (12-month prior + 12-month forward) residency. · official page ↗
  • city Liability insurance (minimum $500,000) Conditional
    Fee: — · Renewal: Must be maintained at all times while operating. · Applies to: Required if listing/booking through a platform or media outlet that does not provide equal-or-greater coverage; NOT required if listing and booking only through Airbnb or HomeAway/VRBO, which are stated to be the only platforms that currently provide this coverage. · official page ↗
  • city Transient Occupancy Tax collection & remittance Required
    Fee: — · Renewal: Ongoing collection and remittance. · Applies to: Every home-share host must collect the City TOT and remit it to the City (alone or in coordination with the hosting platform) under SMMC Chapter 6.68. · official page ↗

Taxes

TaxRateAdministered byAirbnb remitsVrbo remits
Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) — home-share — — — —

Operating rules

Primary residence
Yes
Min stay (nights)
—
Max nights / year
—
Max occupancy
The occupancy of the home-share (including the host, all other eligible residents, and all visitors) may not exceed the lesser of (1) 10 persons; (2) one person per 200 square feet of the dwelling unit; or (3) two persons (excluding minor children) per bedroom.
Zoning-restricted
No
Cap on licenses
No

Grandfathering: no

Zoning: No zoning-district ban; compliant hosted home-sharing is allowed citywide but only where it is the host's on-site primary residence. Unhosted 'vacation rentals' are prohibited everywhere in the City. Special cases: (a) rent-controlled unit — a tenant-host may not receive monthly home-share revenue exceeding the unit's monthly rent (Santa Monica Charter Art. XVIII, Sec. 1809); (b) ADUs — for an ADU built under a building permit issued on/after March 31, 2017, the ADU itself must be the host's primary residence (host cannot live in the main house and home-share that ADU, and vice versa); for pre-March 31, 2017 ADUs the host may live on-site in either the main house or the ADU.

  • No annual night cap and no minimum-stay requirement for compliant hosted home-sharing (only the 30-consecutive-days-or-less ceiling that defines a home-share).
  • Whole-home/unhosted rentals are 'vacation rentals' and are prohibited; the host must maintain a physical on-site presence throughout each visitor's stay.
  • A host may not be the host for more than one home-share within the City.

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Frequently asked questions

Is Airbnb legal in Santa Monica?
Santa Monica permits only "home-sharing" and categorically prohibits "vacation rentals." Under the Home-Sharing Ordinance (Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 6.20, added by Ordinance No. 2484(CCS) adopted May 12, 2015, effective June 12, 2015; amended by ordinances adopted Jan 24, 2017, Jun 27, 2017, and Sep 24, 2019; administrative Rules & Regulations last revised Nov 21, 2019), a rental of 30 consecutive days or less is legal ONLY as a home-share — the rental of one or more bedrooms in the host's on-site primary residence, with the host living on-site throughout each visitor's stay. Renting a unit for exclusive transient use with no on-site host (the standard whole-home/unhosted Airbnb model) is a prohibited "vacation rental" and remains banned citywide. To operate a home-share, a host must obtain and continuously maintain BOTH a City home-sharing permit and a home-sharing business license (applied for together through one application). The permit and business license expire at midnight on the June 30 succeeding issuance and must be renewed annually (renew by July 1). NOTE ON FEES: the City's current published application fee schedule (santamonica.gov how-to-apply page) shows a total initial "Potential Total Amount Due" of $582.25 — Home-Share Review Fee $458.40 + Minimum License Tax $75.00 + Processing Fee $44.85 + CASp (state disability-access) fee $4.00. This SUPERSEDES the $100 initial / $50 renewal figures stated in the 2019 Rules & Regulations, which expressly warned the fee "may be increased in the future by Council resolution"; a current renewal-specific fee amount is not separately published and is unverified. Key limits: host must be the property's primary resident and live on-site during stays; one home-share per host citywide; no more than two listings per hosting platform; no more than two groups of visitors booked per date; occupancy capped at the lesser of 10 persons, 1 person per 200 sq ft, or 2 persons (excluding minor children) per bedroom; visitor-vehicle caps (1 per rented bedroom, or 2 in a preferential-parking zone using visitor permits); $500,000 liability insurance (deemed satisfied when listing/booking only through Airbnb or HomeAway/VRBO, the only platforms stated to provide equal-or-greater coverage). Hosts must collect and remit the City Transient Occupancy Tax of 17% on home-shares (effective March 1, 2023; hotels/motels are 15%) under SMMC Chapter 6.68. There is NO annual night cap and NO minimum-stay requirement for compliant hosted home-sharing. Enforcement is by citation under SMMC 6.20.100 (fine, penalty, or imprisonment); two final citations trigger a 30-day suspension (or as long as at least one citation remains open, whichever is longer) and three or more trigger revocation; appeals run through SMMC Chapter 6.16.
Do I need a license or registration for a short-term rental in Santa Monica?
Yes — Santa Monica requires: Home-Sharing Permit; Home-Sharing Business License; Proof of primary residency (two documents). See the requirements checklist for fees, renewal, and official links.
What taxes apply to short-term rentals in Santa Monica?
Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) — home-share. Use the lodging-tax estimator on this page for a specific stay.

Official sources

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Informational summary of publicly available sources; not legal advice. Verify against the linked official sources.