Short-Term Rentals in Tulare, CA: What Residents Actually Need to Know

If you live in Tulare 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. Tulare has 11 specific rules on the books covering different aspects of short-term rentals, and some of them might surprise you.

Occupancy Limits

Tulare has no STR-specific occupancy cap. Maximum occupancy defaults to the California Building Code (Title 24, Part 2) and California Fire Code (Title 24, Part 9) — generally two persons per bedroom plus one additional person, or based on the actual sleeping-area square footage (70 sq ft for the first occupant, 50 sq ft per additional occupant under CBC Section 1208). The defunct Tulare County draft STR ordinance had proposed limiting rental to 'habitable interior spaces in permitted dwellings,' barring garages, tents, treehouses, yurts, camper trailers, and RVs — that standard already follows from CBC habitability rules even without a dedicated STR chapter.

Key details: STR-specific occupancy cap: None. Habitability standard: California Building Code (Title 24 Part 2). Min. sleeping room: 70 sq ft + 50 sq ft per add'l occupant (CBC §1208). Non-habitable structures: Cannot be rented (garages, RVs, tents, yurts). ADU short-term rental: Cities may bar STR <30 days per Gov. Code §65852.2(a)(6).

Overcrowding violations are enforced as building/fire code violations (Tulare Municipal Code Title 15) and as a public nuisance under § 7.28.030; renting a non-habitable structure (garage, RV, etc.) can trigger zoning enforcement under Title 10.

Taxes & Fees

The City of Tulare has no dedicated short-term rental ordinance, but any rental of 30 consecutive days or less is a transient occupancy and triggers state-default tax/business-license duties. Tulare County's draft STR ordinance was voted down 3-2 in February 2025, so the existing County Transient Occupancy Tax (10% of rent) framework remains the operative model for unincorporated comparables; inside the City limits, operators must obtain a city business license under Tulare Municipal Code Title 5 (Business Licenses and Regulations) and Hosts on Airbnb/Vrbo are responsible for state sales/use tax and any applicable TOT collection. Confirm the current city TOT rate and registration form with the City of Tulare Finance Department before listing.

Key details: City STR ordinance: None adopted as of 2026. City business license: Required under Tulare Municipal Code Title 5. County TOT (reference): 10% of rent, stays ≤30 days. County STR ordinance status: Draft voted down 3-2 (Feb 2025). TOT remittance frequency: Quarterly (County model).

Operating without a city business license is a misdemeanor under Title 5 with daily fines; failure to remit TOT (at the county or, if adopted, city) carries 10%+ delinquency penalties plus interest and can lead to a tax lien.

Registration Rules

Tulare does not maintain a separate STR registry. Hosts register by applying for a Business Tax Certificate under Tulare Municipal Code Title 5 with the City Finance Department. Tulare County's transient occupancy tax (TOT) is 10% (Tulare County Ordinance Code) and applies to vacation rentals in unincorporated areas, while City of Tulare hotels and lodging operators are taxed under the city's own TOT chapter in Title 3. Beginning Jan 1, 2026, California SB 346 requires hosting platforms to collect and remit TOT directly to local governments where authorized.

Key details: STR registry: None — only the general city business license registry. City TOT: City of Tulare Municipal Code Title 3 transient occupancy tax (hotels/motels/lodging). County TOT rate: 10% of rent (unincorporated parcels only). Platform data sharing: Required under California SB 346 effective Jan 1, 2026. Registering agency: City of Tulare Finance Department.

Failure to register for a business license is a Title 5 violation. Failure to remit TOT can result in penalties, interest, and a tax lien under the city's TOT chapter. After Jan 1, 2026, platforms that fail to share data with the city under SB 346 face state-level enforcement.

If you are coming from a city with tighter rules, you will find Tulare gives residents more flexibility on registration rules.

Tulare imposes no annual day cap on extended home-share arrangements or long-term hosted stays. Because there is no STR ordinance, hosts may rent rooms or entire dwellings for as many nights as desired, subject only to the general business license requirement (Tulare Municipal Code Title 5) and California state landlord-tenant law (AB 1482 rent cap / just-cause eviction, Civ. Code §§ 1946.2 and 1947.12) once a guest stays long enough to acquire tenant status. Stays of 30 days or more are not subject to transient occupancy tax under Tulare County's TOT framework.

Key details: Annual home-share day cap: None. 30+ day stays: Exempt from TOT; tenant protections may apply. AB 1482 rent cap: Applies to stays of 12+ months (Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.12). Just-cause eviction: Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.2 after 12 months of occupancy. TOT-triggering threshold: Under 30 days under Tulare County TOT framework.

There is no city violation for extended hosting. Failing to honor AB 1482 protections (Civ. Code § 1946.2) after a stay becomes a tenancy can expose the host to civil damages under state law. Failing to track the 30-day TOT exemption correctly can lead to either underpayment or overpayment of TOT.

If you are coming from a city with tighter rules, you will find Tulare gives residents more flexibility on extended home share.

Permit Requirements

The City of Tulare has not adopted a stand-alone short-term rental (STR) permit ordinance. STR operators must instead obtain a general business license under Tulare Municipal Code Title 5 (Business Licenses and Regulations) and comply with Title 10 Zoning. Tulare County's draft STR ordinance, which would have applied countywide including unincorporated areas, was rejected by the Board of Supervisors 3-2 in 2024. Statewide, California SB 346 (effective Jan 1, 2026) requires platforms like Airbnb and VRBO to share host data with local governments and to collect transient occupancy tax (TOT) on the host's behalf.

Key details: STR-specific permit: None — city has not adopted a dedicated STR ordinance. Required license: Business Tax Certificate under Tulare Municipal Code Title 5. County overlay: Tulare County STR ordinance rejected 3-2 by Board of Supervisors (2024). State framework: California SB 346 effective Jan 1, 2026 — platform data sharing. Issuing department: City of Tulare Finance Department (Business Licenses).

Operating an STR without a Tulare business license is a violation of Tulare Municipal Code Title 5 and can result in citations, back-taxes (business license fees plus penalties and interest), and potential abatement of the use as an unpermitted commercial activity in a residential zone. Under SB 346, the city may also obtain platform listing data to identify unlicensed operators.

Tulare is more permissive than most cities when it comes to permit requirements. That said, there are still limits.

Insurance Requirements

Tulare does not require short-term rental operators to carry a minimum liability policy. There is no STR ordinance and no insurance-floor requirement in Title 5 (Business Licenses) of the Tulare Municipal Code. By default, operators rely on platform-provided coverage (Airbnb AirCover up to $1M host liability; Vrbo Liability Insurance up to $1M) or their own homeowner/landlord policy. The Tulare County draft STR ordinance (rejected 2025) had proposed a $1,000,000 general-liability requirement, signaling the regional benchmark even though it never passed.

Key details: City insurance mandate: None. State insurance mandate: None for STRs. Airbnb AirCover host liability: Up to $1,000,000. Vrbo Liability Insurance: Up to $1,000,000 per stay. Tulare County draft (rejected) benchmark: $1,000,000 GL contemplated.

No city-level enforcement for failure to insure. Civil exposure is the primary risk — uninsured incidents can mean the host's personal assets are exposed to guest injury claims.

Tulare is more permissive than most cities when it comes to insurance requirements. That said, there are still limits.

Primary-Residence-Only Rule

Tulare Municipal Code does not impose a primary-residence requirement on short-term rental operators. Because the city has no STR-specific ordinance, non-owner-occupied (whole-home, investor-owned) STRs are not categorically banned. The rejected Tulare County draft STR ordinance would have allowed both hosted and unhosted rentals so long as the dwelling was a 'permitted dwelling' with 'habitable interior spaces' — but that countywide ordinance was voted down 3-2 in 2024 and never took effect. California has no statewide primary-residence rule for STRs.

Key details: Primary-residence rule: None in Tulare Municipal Code. Whole-home STRs: Permitted, subject to business license and zoning. Owner occupancy required: No. Annual night cap: None. State preemption: California has no statewide primary-residence STR rule.

Because no primary-residence rule exists, there is no violation for renting a non-owner-occupied dwelling. Hosts must still hold a city business license and meet zoning, building, and fire-code requirements.

The rules around primary-residence-only rule in Tulare lean permissive, but that does not mean anything goes.

Noise Rules

Tulare has no STR-specific quiet-hours rule, so the citywide noise standards under Tulare Municipal Code Chapter 6.40 apply to Airbnb/Vrbo guests just as they do to any other resident. Amplified sound at a guest property may not exceed 70 dB at the property line of any affected area between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. (Tulare M.C. § 6.40.071); after 10:00 p.m. and before 6:00 a.m., lower nighttime levels apply. Hosts should write the citywide quiet-hours rule into the house manual to keep guests inside the law.

Key details: Code citation: Tulare M.C. § 6.40.071. Day amplified-sound cap: 70 dB at property line, 6 a.m.–10 p.m.. Night quiet hours: 10 p.m.–6 a.m. (lower limit, see Ch. 6.40). STR-specific quiet rule: None. Enforcement: Tulare Police Department.

Noise violations under Chapter 6.40 are infractions (with escalating fines for repeat offenses) and can also be abated as public nuisances under § 7.28.030; repeat after-hours calls to the Police Department can support business-license revocation if the city ever adopts an STR-specific permit.

Host Presence Rule

The City of Tulare does not require the host to be present during a short-term rental stay. Both hosted ('home-share') and unhosted (whole-home) rentals are allowed because there is no STR-specific ordinance in Title 5 (Business Licenses) or Title 10 (Zoning) of the Tulare Municipal Code. Tulare County's rejected 2024 draft STR ordinance would have allowed both hosted and unhosted rentals subject to occupancy caps tied to bedroom count.

Key details: Host presence required: No. Hosted (home-share) rentals: Allowed under general business license. Unhosted (whole-home) rentals: Allowed under general business license. Applicable nuisance rules: Tulare Municipal Code § 6.40 (Noise), § 7.28.030 (Nuisance). Defeated county draft: Would have allowed both hosted and unhosted, capped by bedroom count.

There is no penalty for renting unhosted because no host-presence rule exists. Excessive noise from guests, however, is still actionable under Tulare Municipal Code § 6.40 (Noise) and § 7.28.030 (Nuisance), and chronic nuisance can lead to abatement actions.

If you are coming from a city with tighter rules, you will find Tulare gives residents more flexibility on host presence rule.

Parking Rules

Tulare imposes no STR-specific parking ratio. Off-street parking falls back to the citywide residential zoning standards in Tulare Municipal Code Title 10 (Zoning), which generally require two off-street covered spaces per single-family dwelling. Guests may park on the public street subject to Title 10 Vehicle Code provisions (72-hour limit, no parking on lawns, no blocking sidewalks/driveways) and any posted residential parking-permit restrictions. The rejected County draft STR ordinance contemplated one off-street guest space per bedroom — a useful host benchmark even though it never took effect.

Key details: STR-specific parking ratio: None (use Title 10 SFR standard). Standard SFR requirement: Typically 2 enclosed spaces per dwelling. On-street 72-hour limit: Cal. Vehicle Code § 22651(k). County draft (rejected) benchmark: 1 off-street space per bedroom. Lawn / sidewalk parking: Prohibited (Tulare M.C. Title 10/12).

Parking on a public street beyond 72 hours, parking on a lawn, or blocking a sidewalk or driveway is enforceable by Tulare PD with citation and tow under California Vehicle Code §§ 22651, 22500, and Tulare Municipal Code Title 10/12.

Night Caps

Tulare imposes no annual cap on the number of nights a property may be rented short-term. Neither the Tulare Municipal Code nor any California state statute caps STR nights; the Tulare County draft ordinance that would have considered tighter limits was rejected 3-2 in February 2025. Hosts may rent year-round subject only to zoning use (Title 10), the general business license (Title 5), nuisance (§ 7.28.030), noise (Chapter 6.40), and any state TOT registration requirement once stays cross the 30-day transient threshold.

Key details: Annual night cap (city): None. Annual night cap (state): None. Hosted vs. un-hosted distinction: Not made in Tulare code. Hosted vs. un-hosted distinction: Not made in Tulare code. Backstop enforcement: Nuisance § 7.28.030; Noise Chapter 6.40.

No direct night-cap enforcement; an unmanaged STR can still be cited under § 7.28.030 (nuisance) or Title 6.40 (noise) for behavior occurring during stays, with civil and administrative penalties.

Tulare is more permissive than most cities when it comes to night caps. That said, there are still limits.

The Bottom Line

Compared to many U.S. cities, Tulare gives residents more room on short-term rentals. 7 of the 11 rules here are rated permissive. But permissive does not mean unregulated. There are still requirements, and the city does enforce them when violations are reported.

All of the above reflects Tulare's municipal code as of our last review. If you need specifics on fines, exemptions, or filing requirements, the detailed ordinance pages linked above have the full breakdown.