Short-Term Rentals in Ventura, CA (2026)

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

Verified from official government sources

Short-Term Rental Permits

A short-term vacation rental or homestay permit is required before anyone rents, offers to rent, or advertises a Ventura dwelling for stays under 30 days, per Municipal Code § 6.455.040. The permit administrator issues or renews a permit only after confirming an inspection, zoning compliance, chapter compliance and available density, and denies applications for false information or a recent revocation.

Ventura Short-Term Rental Permit Requirement

Significant Restrictions

San Buenaventura Municipal Code § 6.455.040

A short-term vacation rental permit or homestay permit is required for an owner of a short-term vacation rental or homestay to in any form rent, offer to rent, or advertise for rent the short-term vacation rental or homestay as provided in this chapter. ... B. ... Permit Issuance. The permit administrator shall issue or renew a permit authorizing a short-term vacation rental or homestay if the ...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Noise Rules

Every short-term vacation rental and homestay in the City of Ventura must post a notice inside the unit tying amplified sound to the city's noise ordinance and flatly prohibiting loud parties, under Section 6.455.140(H)(7)-(9). Guests who trigger a special enforcement response for a loud party expose the owner to the city's cost-recovery rules.

Ventura STR Posted Noise and Loud-Party Rules

Significant Restrictions

San Buenaventura Municipal Code § 6.455.140(H)(7)-(9)

7. Notification that amplified sound, including radios, televisions and other electronic devices, is subject to the city's noise ordinance as set forth in Section 10.650.110 et seq. 8. A prohibition on loud parties, along with notification of the city's right to recover the costs of special enforcement needed to address certain loud parties under the circumstances described in Section 10.650.21...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Taxes & Fees

Ventura charges short-term rental owners the chapter's own permit fees plus the city's transient occupancy tax, and ties both to the permit itself. Municipal Code § 6.455.150 lets the city council set fees for applications, renewals, amendments, inspections and enforcement, while §§ 6.455.040(B)(5) and 6.455.050(C) make paying transient occupancy tax a condition of getting or keeping the permit.

Ventura Short-Term Rental Fees and Occupancy Tax

Some Restrictions

San Buenaventura Municipal Code §§ 6.455.040(B)(5), 6.455.050(C), 6.455.150

5. The owner is current on all taxes, fees, and any fines owed to the city. The permit administrator shall not issue a permit to any owner who has operated an unpermitted short-term vacation rental until the owner pays any fines imposed for operating without a permit in addition to the transient occupancy tax the owner would have paid the city if the owner had been operating legally. ... C. ......

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Short-Term Rental Parking Rules

Ventura ties parking directly to bedroom count for every permitted short-term rental. Municipal Code § 6.455.060 requires one free on-site space for a zero-, one- or two-bedroom vacation rental and two spaces, which may be tandem, for three or more bedrooms; a homestay needs just one space set aside for its guests.

Ventura Short-Term Rental Parking Rules

Some Restrictions

San Buenaventura Municipal Code § 6.455.060(A)(1), (B)(1)

A. Short-Term Vacation Rentals. 1. ... For short-term vacation rentals with zero, one, or two bedrooms, one on-site parking space is required to be made available free of charge for exclusive use by occupants. For short-term vacation rentals with three or more bedrooms, a minimum of two on-site parking spaces is required. Parking spaces may be tandem. ... B. ... Homestays. 1. One parking space ...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Occupancy Limits

Ventura caps overnight occupancy at every permitted short-term vacation rental and homestay under Municipal Code § 6.455.140(F). A whole-unit vacation rental may sleep two people plus two more per bedroom, while a homestay, where the owner keeps living in the unit, is capped at two people per bedroom. Children under three do not count, and the cap must be posted inside the rental and stated in every ad.

Ventura Short-Term Rental Occupancy Limits

Some Restrictions

San Buenaventura Municipal Code § 6.455.140(F)

F. For short-term vacation rentals, the owner shall limit overnight occupancy to a specific number of occupants, with the maximum number of overnight occupants being two persons plus two persons per bedroom available to occupants. For homestays, that number will be two persons per bedroom available to occupants. Children under three years of age are excluded from the occupancy count. Advertisem...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Insurance Requirements

Ventura requires proof of insurance before it will issue a short-term rental permit and requires that coverage to continue afterward. Municipal Code § 6.455.040(A)(4) makes proof of insurance part of every application, and § 6.455.120 requires the owner to maintain a policy the permit administrator finds adequate and appropriate for the use.

Ventura Short-Term Rental Insurance Mandate

Some Restrictions

San Buenaventura Municipal Code §§ 6.455.040(A)(4), 6.455.120

4. Proof of insurance as required by this chapter. ... The owner of short-term vacation rental or homestay shall maintain an insurance policy as specified by the permit administrator that is adequate and appropriate for short-term vacation rental or homestay use, as applicable.

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Night Caps

Ventura does not cap nights per year; instead it caps the total number of short-term vacation rental permits allowed in each of five defined areas. Municipal Code § 6.455.080 sets ceilings from 35 permits in Midtown and the Harbor/Keys to 100 downtown and in Pierpont, while homestay permits stay unlimited everywhere.

Ventura Limits Short-Term Rental Permits by Area

Significant Restrictions

San Buenaventura Municipal Code § 6.455.080

A permit for a short-term vacation rental shall be issued subject to the restrictions set forth in this section. The areas of the city defined in this section are depicted in Appendix A of this chapter. A. Area 1: The Avenue. 1. The number of short-term vacation rental permits for dwelling units located in this area shall not exceed 40 permits. 2. An unlimited number of homestay permits are per...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Host Presence Rule

Ventura requires every short-term rental owner or agent to stay close enough to respond. Municipal Code § 6.455.140(A) requires the owner or their agent to live or work within 30 miles of the rental and be able to respond to tenant or public concerns at all times the unit is being rented.

Ventura's 30-Mile Host Response Rule

Some Restrictions

San Buenaventura Municipal Code § 6.455.140(A)

A. The owner or their agent must live or work within 30 miles of the short-term vacation rental and be able to respond to tenant and/or public concerns about the short-term vacation rental at all times during which the dwelling unit is being rented as such.

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Primary-Residence-Only Rule

A Ventura homestay permit, unlike a whole-unit short-term vacation rental, is only available for a dwelling that is the owner's primary residence. Municipal Code § 6.455.020 defines a homestay as a unit where the owner keeps primary residency and stays overnight nightly through the guest's whole visit, and § 6.455.040(B)(8) makes that residency a permit-issuance finding.

Ventura Homestays Require Owner Residency

Some Restrictions

San Buenaventura Municipal Code §§ 6.455.020, 6.455.040(B)(8)

“Homestay” is a dwelling unit other than a “dwelling unit” located in a “hotel,” as those terms are defined in Title 24, that is rented for a period of not more than 30 consecutive days, during which time the owner of the dwelling unit retains primary residency in the unit and stays overnight in the unit nightly throughout the occupant’s entire stay. ... 8. ... For a homestay permit, the propos...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Repeat Violator Strikes

Two violations of a Ventura short-term rental permit's conditions in any 12-month period can suspend the permit for up to six months, and a third strike in the same window can revoke it outright, under Section 6.455.190. A single loud-party police notice can suspend a permit for a full year on its own.

Ventura STR Repeat-Violation Permit Strikes

Heavy Restrictions

San Buenaventura Municipal Code § 6.455.190(A)(1)-(2)

1. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, if any person violates a single or combination of permit conditions, section(s) of this chapter, or state or federal law, two or more times in any 12-month period, and the violations relate in any way to the dwelling unit that has a permit issued under this chapter, the permit may be suspended up to a period of six months in accordance with su...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Host Platform Liability

Before a guest ever checks in, the owner or the hosting platform handling the booking must collect that guest's name, address and a driver's license number or passport copy under San Buenaventura Municipal Code Section 6.455.140(D). The same guest must sign a written acknowledgment accepting legal responsibility for the conduct of everyone in the unit.

Ventura STR Host ID Verification Duty

Some Restrictions

San Buenaventura Municipal Code § 6.455.140(D)

D. Prior to occupancy, the owner (or hosting platform) shall obtain the name, address, and driver's license number or a copy of the passport of the primary adult occupant of the short-term vacation rental or homestay. The owner shall require that adult to sign a formal acknowledgment that they are legally responsible for compliance of all occupants of the short-term vacation rental or homestay ...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Looking for Ventura County county-wide rules?

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

Short-Term Rentals in Ventura County →