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Short-Term Rentals in Tulare, CA (2026)

11 verified short-term rentals rules for Tulare, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.

Verified from official government sources

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.

No STR-specific permit; business license required under Title 5

Few Restrictions
Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

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.

Noise Rules for STR Guests — Chapter 6.40 Citywide Standards

Some Restrictions
Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

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.

Transient Occupancy Tax & City Business License

Some Restrictions
Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

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.

STR Guest Parking — Title 10 Zoning Off-Street Requirements

Some Restrictions
Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

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.

Occupancy Limits — California Building Code & Local Defaults

Some Restrictions
Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

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.

Insurance Requirements — No City Mandate, Platform Defaults Apply

Few Restrictions
Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

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.

Annual Night Caps — No Local Cap, State Default Applies

Few Restrictions
Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

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.

Business license registration only; no STR registry maintained

Few Restrictions
Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

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.

No host-presence requirement; unhosted rentals allowed

Few Restrictions
Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

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.

No primary-residence requirement for Tulare STRs

Few Restrictions
Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Extended Home Share

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.

No annual day cap on extended home-share or long stays

Few Restrictions
Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Looking for Tulare County county-wide rules?

County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Tulare city rules.

Short-Term Rentals in Tulare County →