Santa Barbara County, CA Accessory Structures: ADU Rental Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- LUDC Sec. 35.42.245(A)(4)
- ADU/JADU as STR
- Prohibited in all zones
- Applies to
- Unincorporated Santa Barbara County only
- Standalone STR permit
- Land Use Permit, Sec. 35.82.110
- Enforcement chapter
- County Code Ch. 35.108
Summary
Santa Barbara County bans using an accessory dwelling unit or junior accessory dwelling unit as a Short-Term Rental anywhere in the unincorporated county. LUDC Sec. 35.42.245(A)(4) makes the prohibition zone-blind: it applies even in the commercial and special-purpose zones where standalone Short-Term Rentals are otherwise permitted.
3.Permit requirement. Short-Term Rentals may only be located in certain commercial and special purpose zones in compliance with the permit requirement identified in Article 35.2 (Zones and Allowable Land Uses). The required permit shall be obtained and all conditions of the permit shall be satisfied prior to the commencement of a Short-Term Rental.4.Accessory dwelling units and junior accessory dwelling units. The use of an accessory dwelling unit or junior accessory dwelling unit as a Short-Term Rental shall be prohibited in all zones.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 44 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
245 of the Santa Barbara County Land Use and Development Code regulates Short-Term Rentals in the unincorporated area, and its fourth applicability provision singles out accessory units. 4, "the use of an accessory dwelling unit or junior accessory dwelling unit as a Short-Term Rental shall be prohibited in all zones," full stop, with no zone exception. That stands apart from the rest of Sec. 110 before the rental use begins. Because the ADU/JADU ban is written into the same Section that created the county's Short-Term Rental permit track (added by Ordinance 16ORD-00009 in 2017 and later amended by Ordinance 20ORD-00002), owners cannot cure the prohibition by seeking a Land Use Permit; the use itself is off the table for these unit types.
This is distinct from the county's separate Homestay regime under Sec. 193, which likewise bars ADUs/JADUs from that permit category. The rule reaches only unincorporated Santa Barbara County; the incorporated cities of Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Lompoc, Goleta, Carpinteria and Buellton set their own ADU short-term-rental policies under their own municipal codes.
Violations & Fines
An ADU or JADU operated as a Short-Term Rental is not a permitting violation to be corrected with paperwork, it is a use the code does not allow in any zone. Santa Barbara County Code Chapter 35.108 (Enforcement and Penalties) governs enforcement of Development Code violations, and continued short-term rental use of an accessory unit after notice is treated as a Development Code violation subject to that chapter's abatement and penalty procedures, the same enforcement track used for unpermitted Short-Term Rentals under Sec. 35.42.245(A)(2).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I rent my ADU on Airbnb in unincorporated Santa Barbara County?
Does this ban apply to the main house on a lot with an ADU?
Is this the same rule as the Homestay ADU ban?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Santa Barbara County
California rules heatmap·Compare Santa Barbara County to another location·View the California accessory structures overview
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