Short-Term Rentals in Vacaville, CA (2026)
6 verified short-term rentals rules for Vacaville, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Permit Requirements
The City of Vacaville does not issue a short-term rental (STR) permit and has not adopted a stand-alone STR licensing chapter. Under Title 14 (Land Use and Development Code) of the Vacaville Municipal Code, a rental of less than thirty (30) consecutive days falls within the 'hotel/motel' or 'bed and breakfast' use classification rather than 'dwelling, single-family' or 'dwelling, multifamily,' and lodging uses are limited to commercial zoning districts under Chapter 14.09.070 (Commercial and Mixed-Use Zoning Districts). Operating a whole-home Airbnb, Vrbo, or Booking.com listing in an R-E, R-L, R-M, or R-H residential district is not a permitted use, even with a city business license. Accessory dwelling units are independently barred from short-term rental use by Chapter 14.09.270 (Standards for Specific Uses and Activities), which prohibits ADU rentals of less than 31 days.
Vacaville Does Not License Short-Term Rentals in Residential Zones; Rentals Under 30 Days Are Treated as Hotels Under Title 14 Zoning
Heavy RestrictionsNoise Rules
Because Vacaville does not authorize short-term rentals in residential zones, the city has not codified STR-specific quiet hours or party-house penalties. Noise generated at a Vacaville address is governed by the general public nuisance standard in Vacaville Municipal Code Chapter 8.10 (Abatement of Public Nuisance), which defines a nuisance to include any loud, unusual, or unnecessary noise that disturbs the peace or quiet of nearby property or that would annoy or disturb a reasonable person of normal sensitivity. Section 8.10.030 effectively imposes a stricter nighttime window of 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday and 10:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. on Sundays, during which construction, repair work, leaf blowers, mowing equipment, and similar noise sources within 500 feet of an occupied residence are prohibited.
No STR-Specific Noise Rule; General Nuisance Standard in Chapter 8.10 Applies (10 p.m.-6 a.m. weekdays; 10 p.m.-8 a.m. Sundays)
Some RestrictionsTaxes & Fees
Vacaville imposes a Transient Occupancy Tax of 8% on the rent charged for occupancy of any hotel, motel, or other lodging facility for stays of 30 consecutive days or less under Vacaville Municipal Code Chapter 3.16. On top of that, the Vacaville Tourism Marketing District (originally established under Chapter 3.17 as a Hotel Business Improvement District with a 2% assessment) increased its assessment to 4% effective November 1, 2025, after City Council approval of a Visit Vacaville board petition. Effective October 1, 2023, HdL Companies took over TOT collection, returns, and audit on behalf of the city; operators file directly with HdL's TOT Processing Center rather than with the City Clerk. Because STRs are not a permitted use in residential zones, the practical operator base for these taxes is hotels, motels, and lawful lodging facilities in commercial/mixed-use districts.
Vacaville TOT Is 8% Under Chapter 3.16; Plus 4% Vacaville Tourism Marketing District Assessment Effective November 2025
Some RestrictionsParking Rules
Vacaville has not codified short-term rental parking conditions because STRs are not authorized in residential zones. Parking for lawful lodging uses (hotels, motels, bed and breakfast inns in commercial/mixed-use districts) is governed by the off-street parking provisions of Title 14 (Land Use and Development Code), which set the minimum number of stalls per guest room and per employee, ADA accessibility, drive-aisle dimensions, and landscaping. For residential addresses, on-street and overnight parking is regulated by Chapter 10.20 (Stopping, Standing and Parking), including a prohibition on parking commercial vehicles with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or more within 600 feet of any occupied dwelling and the city's posted permit and time-limit zones.
No STR-Specific Parking Rule; Title 14 Off-Street Parking Standards Apply to Lodging Uses
Some RestrictionsCalifornia Vehicle Code Sec. 22651 (Authority to Remove Parked/Abandoned Vehicles)
22651. A peace officer, ... or a regularly employed and salaried employee who is engaged in directing traffic or enforcing parking laws and regulations of a city, county, or jurisdiction of a state agency in which a vehicle is located may remove a vehicle located within the territorial limits in which the officer or employee may act, under the following circumstances: ... (k) If a vehicle is pa...
Occupancy Limits
Vacaville has not codified an STR-specific occupancy cap (such as a flat 'two persons per bedroom plus two' rule or a 10-person maximum) because short-term rentals are not authorized in residential zones. For lawful lodging uses (hotels, motels, bed and breakfast inns in commercial/mixed-use districts), occupancy is set by the California Building Code occupant-load tables for the Group R-1 occupancy classification as adopted by Title 15 of the Vacaville Municipal Code, plus any use-permit-specific cap imposed by the Community Development Department at entitlement. Chapter 9.20 (Abatement of Community Safety Violations) reinforces that exceeding posted occupancy load at a public assembly where alcohol or drugs are accessible is itself a violation.
No STR-Specific Occupancy Cap; California Building Code and Title 14 Lodging Standards Govern Lawful Lodging Uses
Some RestrictionsCalifornia Health and Safety Code Sec. 17920.3 (Substandard Building Definition — Including Inadequate Sanitation and Overcrowding)
17920.3. Any building or portion thereof, regardless of zoning designation or approved uses of the building, including any dwelling unit, guestroom or suite of rooms, or the premises on which the same is located, in which there exists any of the following listed conditions to an extent that endangers the life, limb, health, property, safety, or welfare of the occupants of the building, nearby r...
Insurance Requirements
Vacaville has not adopted a stand-alone short-term rental insurance requirement because STRs are not a permitted use in residential zones under Title 14. For lawful lodging operations in commercial and mixed-use districts (hotels, motels, bed and breakfast inns), the city does not impose a codified minimum liability limit in the municipal code; insurance levels are set by the operator and its lender, and may be addressed by individual use-permit conditions adopted by the Community Development Department at the entitlement stage. Hosts using Airbnb, Vrbo, or similar platforms rely on the platform-provided host protection programs (e.g., Airbnb AirCover) in addition to private homeowner or commercial policies, but those private programs are not a substitute for a permitted use.
No Vacaville STR Insurance Mandate; Lawful Lodging Uses Carry Standard Commercial Coverage Under Title 14 Use Permits
Few RestrictionsLooking for Solano County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Vacaville city rules.
Short-Term Rentals in Solano County →