Is short-term rental legal in Santa Monica, CA?
Santa Monica legalized home-sharing and banned the rest: you may rent a portion of your home while you are present, under a home-sharing permit and business license. Whole-home rentals under 30 days are prohibited citywide.
Rules checked October 2026
Run the Santa Monica verdict on your facts
| What counts as a short-term rental | Santa Monica legalized home-sharing and banned the rest: you may rent a portion of your home while you are present, under a home-sharing permit and business license. Whole-home rentals under 30 days are prohibited citywide. |
|---|---|
| Permit / license | Home-Sharing Permit + Business License — issued by City of Santa Monica |
| Fee | Permit and license together run a few hundred dollars |
| Renewal | Annual renewal |
| Primary-residence rule | The unit must be your primary residence and you must be present during the stay — the host's presence is the legal category. |
| Whole-home rental | Hosted stays only. Whole-home (unhosted) rentals under 30 days are prohibited — there is no permit that cures them. |
| Night cap | — |
| Guests / occupancy | Per the home-sharing rules |
| Minimum stay | Under 30 days = home-sharing law; 30+ days is a tenancy |
| Zoning | The hosted-only rule applies citywide in residential property. |
| Density / scarcity | No density cap found in the current rules |
| Fines | Illegal whole-home rentals draw fines up to $1,000 per day and possible misdemeanor prosecution — Santa Monica litigates these cases |
| Taxes | Business license tax + TOT collection accompany the permit. |
| Platform duties | Platforms operating in Santa Monica settled with the city and police unregistered listings. |
| State layer | No state preemption — California is the most locally regulated STR state in the country. Coastal-zone rules can add a Coastal Commission layer in some cities. |
What trips hosts in Santa Monica
- Santa Monica is the hosted-only archetype: the question is never 'how many nights' — it is 'were you home?'
The private layer still applies
These are the city's rules. Your HOA, condo board, lease or mortgage can say no on top of them — that layer is printed as a warning in the checker, never merged into the city's verdict.
Sources: Santa Monica Mun. Code § 6.20 (Home-Sharing Ordinance) · City Home-Sharing program. Rules checked October 2026.