El Cajon ADUs may only be rented for terms of 30 days or more under California Government Code §65852.2(a)(7). Short-term rentals under 30 days are not authorized for ADUs created after January 1, 2020. El Cajon has no broad citywide short-term rental permit program in the municipal code; long-term rental of an ADU is permitted without separate city licensing, subject to standard landlord-tenant law.
California Government Code §65852.2(a)(7) requires that all ADUs permitted after January 1, 2020 be rented only for terms of 30 days or more. El Cajon's ADU provisions in ECMC Title 17 incorporate this 30-day minimum. Unlike some coastal cities, El Cajon has not adopted a comprehensive citywide short-term rental (STR) permit program in its municipal code — STR activity is constrained primarily through the state ADU statute, the city zoning code's permitted-use tables for residential districts, and Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) collection requirements under ECMC Title 3 for any lodging operation. Long-term rental (30 days or more) of an ADU is permitted without separate city licensing and is governed by standard California landlord-tenant rules including the California Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (AB 1482) where applicable. JADUs are likewise subject to the 30-day minimum rental rule under Gov. Code §65852.22. Hosting platforms (Airbnb, VRBO) listing El Cajon properties are subject to state-level platform-accountability reporting and the city can pursue zoning enforcement against ADU listings shorter than 30 days. Any STR activity on the primary dwelling — not the ADU — must comply with TOT collection and applicable zoning code use limitations.
Renting an ADU for terms shorter than 30 days violates Gov. Code §65852.2(a)(7) and ECMC Title 17. The El Cajon Code Compliance Division can issue notices of violation, citations, and administrative penalties under the general penalty provisions, with daily fines accruing until the violation is corrected. Repeat or willful violations escalate to misdemeanor charges.
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