Mountain View, CA Accessory Structures: ADU Rental Restrictions (2026)

Section 36.12.100 sets the baseline: ADUs and JADUs may be rented independently of the primary single-family or multi-family dwelling, but neither the ADU/JADU nor the primary unit may be sold or conveyed separately from the other, except as allowed under Government Code Section 65852.26 (which governs limited ADU condominium sales). Long-term renting is therefore fully permitted, but the lot must stay under single ownership as a package. Section 36.12.105 layers a short-term rental ban on top of that: rentals of a term of 30 days or shorter are prohibited in all junior accessory dwelling units; all accessory dwelling units of 800 square feet or less; single-family interior units (ADUs built inside an existing house); detached units created under the small-unit exception in subsection 36.12.95(b)(1); multi-family interior units; and detached units on multi-family residential sites.

In practice this sweeps in nearly every ADU type the ordinance encourages, since the 800-square-foot exception in Section 36.12.95(b)(1) is the most commonly used path to build a detached unit without triggering standard development limits. A larger, free-standing detached ADU built to full development standards outside that exception is the main unit type left outside the short-term rental ban. The rules sit within Division 10 of Article IV (Residential Zones), Chapter 36, and apply citywide wherever ADUs and JADUs are permitted under Sections 36.12.60 through 36.12.120.