Pacifica, CA Accessory Structures: ADU Rental Restrictions (2026)

454(a)(6) sets a thirty-day minimum rental term for a junior accessory dwelling unit, meaning the unit may be rented but never for a period shorter than thirty consecutive days. 454(a)(7) separately bars selling or otherwise conveying the JADU apart from the single-family dwelling it belongs to, so a JADU can never become its own separately owned parcel or condominium unit. 451(i) explains the City Council's reasoning behind the short-term rental limit: a November 2019 review found 269 Pacifica listings on Airbnb, sixty-two percent of which offered an entire house, at an average nightly rate equivalent to roughly $4,710 a month, well above the city's 2017 median rent of $2,110.

The Council concluded that allowing short-term rentals would pull ADUs and JADUs out of the long-term rental market that the accessory-unit program is meant to expand. 453(a)(6) and (a)(7), so the same limits apply whether the unit is a full ADU or a JADU built within the existing home. 454(a)(4), which specifically prohibits sale of the JADU separate from the primary dwelling and confirms the restriction binds future owners of the property.