Sacramento, CA short-term rental permit

What Sacramento asks of you

• No person may operate a short-term rental unless a short-term rental permit is in effect for that dwelling unit.^[5]

• The application form lists three permit fees: $260 new, $250 renewal, $50 late renewal assessment.^[6]

• A permit lasts one year, starting on the day it is issued. The renewal application is due no later than thirty days before it expires.^[5]

• A short-term rental permit may not be transferred.^[5]

• Every operator pays an annual business tax of $50 as a hotel.^[4]

• The city code limits a unit that is not the permittee's primary residence to an aggregate of 90 days during the permit term.^[5]

• The city's web page counts those 90 days per calendar year. Past that total, it says the operator may only rent for a 31-day minimum until the following year.^[4]

• The application form also counts 90 days per calendar year. It says over 90 days requires a conditional use permit.^[6]

• Primary residence means the dwelling unit where the permittee resides for at least 184 days during the calendar year.^[5]

• A permittee may not rent to more than six people per short-term rental. The limit becomes six people per lot when the permittee's primary residence is on another lot.^[5]

• Anyone operating a short-term rental must identify the city permit number in any advertisement for it.^[5]

• A copy of the permit is posted in each room where a lodger is expected to sleep.^[5]

• No sign visible from the exterior may indicate that the dwelling unit is available for rent.^[5]

• The permittee keeps a register of lodging dates, lodger numbers and nightly rent for at least three years. For a non-primary residence, an updated copy goes to the city every three months, starting in January.^[5]

• For a non-primary residence, the permit names a property manager who resides within a 30-mile radius of the rental.^[5]

• The property owner must consent to the rental, and applicable CC&Rs must allow it.^[5]

• Civil penalties run from $250 to $25,000 for each day a violation continues.^[5]

• Section 5.114.400 bars a hosting platform from accepting a booking fee unless the host has a valid city-issued permit. It also makes the platform an operator for collecting the transient occupancy tax.^[5]

• A transient occupancy tax statement is filed each month, even if no tax is due. The deadline falls on the final day of the month that follows the reporting period.^[8]

What California asks wherever you host

These rules apply at this address whatever the city decides.

• No state license exists for short-term rentals in California. The state's 2025 act on booking platforms says it does not preempt a local short-term rental ordinance.^[1]

• Since July 1, 2024, every mandatory fee has to sit inside the rate you advertise. Only government taxes and fees may be added later.^[2]

• State law caps city fines when a short-term rental violation threatens health or safety. The first ceiling is $1,500. A second violation within the year reaches $3,000, each later one $5,000.^[3]