Short-Term Rentals in Santa Rosa, CA

If you live in Santa Rosa or are thinking about moving there, short-term rentals are one of those things you probably won't think about until they affect you directly. Santa Rosa has 9 specific rules on the books covering different aspects of short-term rentals, and some of them might surprise you.

Night Caps

Santa Rosa has hard-capped Non-Hosted Short-Term Rental permits at 182 citywide, and the cap is closed: City Code Section 20-48.040(B)(2)(a) says no new Non-Hosted Short-Term Rental Permit applications will be accepted at all. The 182 ceiling only shrinks from here, dropping each time an existing Non-Hosted permit is vacated, revoked, or its property changes ownership.

Key details: Non-Hosted STR cap: 182 permits citywide. New Non-Hosted applications: Not accepted. Cap direction: Attrition-only, never increases. Separation rule: 1,000 feet between Non-Hosted STRs. Hosted STRs: No cap, unaffected by this rule.

Since the Non-Hosted queue is permanently closed, a property owner who advertises or operates a Non-Hosted Short-Term Rental without one of the existing 182 permits is operating without a valid Short-Term Rental Permit, an offense fined $1,500 for a first violation, $3,000 for a second, and $5,000 for a third or later violation within 12 months under the Table 48.1 penalty schedule in Section 20-48.080(B).

This is not one of those rules that cities tend to ignore. Santa Rosa actively enforces its night caps requirements.

Noise Rules

Section 20-48.070(A)(2) holds Santa Rosa short-term rental guests to the citywide noise code in Chapter 17-16, then layers on two STR-specific rules: quiet hours run 9:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m., and outdoor amplified sound is banned at the property around the clock, day or night.

Key details: Quiet hours: 9:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. daily. Outdoor amplified sound: Banned at all times. Base noise standard: City Code Chapter 17-16 applies. Events/gatherings: Banned unless Owner present entire time. Disclosure required: Quiet hours must appear in listings.

A verified noise violation counts toward the three-strikes rule in Section 20-48.040(H)(1): three verified code enforcement violations within any 12 consecutive months strips an Owner of Operator in Good Standing status and exposes the permit to denial or revocation on renewal. Administrative citations and fines follow Section 20-48.080(B)'s penalty schedule, capped at the maximum fine amounts allowed under Government Code Section 36900 et seq.

Host Presence Rule

A Hosted Short-Term Rental in Santa Rosa only qualifies if the owner actually lives there. City Code Section 20-48.030 defines a Hosted Short-Term Rental as one where, throughout the rental period, the Host lives and sleeps in the Dwelling Unit or in another legal Dwelling Unit on the same parcel. Every hosted application must include a sworn affidavit confirming it.

Key details: Presence requirement: Host lives/sleeps in unit during rental. Proof required: Sworn affidavit at application. Hosted permits: No citywide cap, allowed in all zones. Max per owner: One Hosted STR permit. Unpermitted operation fine: $1,500 first offense.

Misrepresenting host presence on the affidavit, or renting out a unit as "Hosted" when the owner does not actually live and sleep there, is grounds for permit denial or revocation as a Chapter 20-48 violation. Operating a Short-Term Rental without a valid permit matching its actual hosted or non-hosted status draws an administrative citation of $1,500 for a first offense, $3,000 for a second, and $5,000 for a third or later violation within 12 months under Table 48.1.

Repeat Violator Strikes

Santa Rosa treats three verified code violations in twelve months as a Short-Term Rental death sentence. City Code Section 20-48.040(H)(1) strips an Operator of Good Standing status after the third strike, and Section 20-48.080(C) puts the permit itself into revocation proceedings, permanently barring that property from ever holding another Short-Term Rental Permit.

Key details: Strike threshold: 3 verified violations in 12 months. Consequence 1: Loses Operator in Good Standing status. Consequence 2: Permit enters revocation proceedings. Post-revocation: Permanently ineligible on that property. Major violation fines: $1,500 / $3,000 / $5,000.

Fines escalate under Table 48.1 alongside the strike count: major-category violations like operating without a permit, exceeding occupancy limits, or missing quiet hours run $1,500 for a first offense, $3,000 for a second, and $5,000 for a third or later violation within 12 months, and that third violation simultaneously triggers Section 20-48.080(C) revocation proceedings and permanent ineligibility for the property.

Compared to other cities, Santa Rosa takes a harder line on repeat violator strikes. The enforcement and penalty structure reflects that.

Taxes & Fees

Every Santa Rosa short-term rental owner must register for the Transient Occupancy Tax before submitting a new Short-Term Rental Permit application, then collect and remit an 11 percent TOT plus a 3 percent Tourism Business Improvement Area assessment on every booking, under Section 20-48.050 of the zoning code.

Key details: TOT rate: 11% of rent (§ 3-28.020). BIA assessment: 3% of rent (§ 6-56.300(A)). Registration timing: Required before new STR permit application. Filing frequency: Quarterly, due end of following month. Late penalty: 10% then 10% more; 25% for fraud.

Owners who fail to accurately impose, report, or remit TOT or the BIA assessment face the enforcement and remedies in Chapter 3-28 and Chapter 6-56, plus Section 20-48.080 of the Short-Term Rental chapter. Section 3-28.110 adds a 10 percent penalty for an original delinquency, another 10 percent if it remains unpaid 30 days later, up to 25 percent for fraud, and interest at half a percent per month; Section 6-56.330 imposes the same 10/10/25 percent penalty structure on BIA assessments plus 1.5 percent monthly interest.

Primary-Residence-Only Rule

A Santa Rosa Hosted Short-Term Rental has to sit on the parcel the owner actually lives on. City Code Section 20-48.030 defines "Principal Residence" as the place where one resides for more than one-half of the year, and ties Hosted status to a parcel that is the Owner's principal residence as defined in that section.

Key details: Principal Residence defined: Reside there over half the year. Hosted STR tied to: Owner's principal-residence parcel. Proof required: Sworn affidavit at application. False affidavit: Grounds for denial/revocation. Non-Hosted alternative: Capped, closed to new applicants.

An affidavit that falsely claims a parcel is the Owner's principal residence, when the owner in fact lives elsewhere more than half the year, is a material misrepresentation on a Short-Term Rental Permit application under Section 20-48.040(I)(1), grounds for denial, and grounds for revocation once discovered. A revoked Short-Term Rental Permit makes the owner permanently ineligible for any future Short-Term Rental Permit on that same property under Section 20-48.080(C).

Occupancy Limits

Santa Rosa caps overnight occupancy at two short-term renters per bedroom, not to exceed 10 people total. Daytime guests are limited to one-half the overnight occupancy between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m., and outdoor amplified sound is prohibited at all times.

Key details: Overnight occupancy: 2 per bedroom, max 10 total. Daytime guests: 1/2 overnight occupancy, 8 a.m.-9 p.m. only. Quiet hours: 9:00 p.m. - 8:00 a.m.. Outdoor amplified sound: Prohibited 24/7. Events: STRs may not be used as event spaces.

Exceeding occupancy or daytime-guest caps, hosting events, or violating quiet hours and amplified-sound rules triggers the City's tiered penalty schedule under Zoning Code Section 20-48.080. The 24/7 STR complaint hotline ((707) 543-3244) routes calls to the designated local contact, who must respond within 45 minutes; failure to respond is itself a violation. Three verified violations within 12 months result in permit revocation.

This is one of the stricter rules in Santa Rosa's municipal code. If you are unsure whether your situation complies, it is worth checking with the city before proceeding.

Short-Term Rental Permits

Santa Rosa requires a Short-Term Rental (STR) Permit for every property rented for less than 30 consecutive days. The City is no longer accepting new Non-Hosted applications; only Hosted STRs (where the owner's principal residence is on-site) are available to new applicants.

Key details: Permit required: Yes - before renting, advertising, or listing. Permit term: 1 year, annual renewal (30-day grace period). Permit types: Hosted (citywide) and Non-Hosted (closed to new applicants). Non-hosted cap: 182 citywide, declining through attrition. Code citation: Santa Rosa Zoning Code Chapter 20-48.

Operating an STR without a permit, advertising without including the permit number, or providing false residency information triggers administrative citations and may bar issuance or renewal of the permit. The City's tiered penalty schedule (Zoning Code Section 20-48.080, Table 48.1) imposes a citation on the first verified violation and a monetary fine on the second; a third verified violation within a rolling 12-month period results in permit revocation and permanent ineligibility for that property.

Short-Term Rental Parking Rules

Santa Rosa caps short-term rental occupancy to whatever its off-street parking can support under Section 20-48.060(C): one dedicated space per bedroom offered for rent, with minimum garage, standard, and parallel-space dimensions spelled out, and only one on-street space ever counted toward the total.

Key details: Parking ratio: 1 off-street space per STR bedroom. Garage/carport size: 9.5 ft x 19 ft minimum. Standard space size: 9 ft x 19 ft minimum. Parallel space size: 8 ft x 22 ft (8x20 if boxed in). On-street credit: Max 1 on-street space counted.

Because parking capacity sets the legal occupancy ceiling, hosting more Short-Term Renters or Daytime Guests than the provided spaces support is itself a permit violation, enforceable under Section 20-48.080 alongside the chapter's other operational standards. Three verified code enforcement violations within any 12-month period strip an Owner of Operator in Good Standing status and can trigger permit denial or revocation, and administrative citations carry fines up to the maximum set by Government Code Section 36900 et seq.

The Bottom Line

Santa Rosa is tougher than many cities when it comes to short-term rentals. Out of the 9 rules covered here, 3 are rated strict. If you are a homeowner, renter, or business owner in Santa Rosa, take the time to understand these requirements before they become a problem. Most violations come with fines, and some repeat violations can escalate.

These rules come from Santa Rosa's publicly available municipal code. For complete penalty schedules, exemption details, and answers to common questions, see the individual ordinance pages throughout this guide.