10 rules for unincorporated Calaveras County, California.
Verified from official government sources
Unincorporated Calaveras County requires every short-term/vacation rental to register and pay the 12% Transient Occupancy Tax through the County's online STR portal. A County land-use permit is only mandated in four regulated Lake Tulloch subdivisions under Code Chapter 20.20; a countywide vacation-rental permitting ordinance was still in draft form in 2025.
Calaveras County's 2025 draft Short-Term Vacation Rental Ordinance proposed a 10 p.m. cutoff for live amplified music and additional guests at vacation rentals. Until a countywide ordinance is adopted, rental noise is addressed through the County's general nuisance/noise rules and, in the four Lake Tulloch subdivisions, through Code Chapter 20.20.
Unincorporated Calaveras County charges a 12% Transient Occupancy Tax on lodging rented for 30 nights or fewer, under Code Chapter 3.12. Voters doubled the rate from 6% to 12% with the 2018 Measure G. Tax is collected from guests, remitted quarterly, and late payment carries a 10% penalty plus interest.
Parking is a central issue in Calaveras County's vacation-rental regulation. In the regulated Lake Tulloch subdivisions, the County zoning code (Chapter 20.20) addresses parking, and the 2025 countywide draft ordinance proposed tying allowable guests to available on-site parking - a standard commenters found both restrictive for small cabins and permissive for large parcels.
In the four regulated Lake Tulloch subdivisions, the County zoning code (Chapter 20.20) limits short-term-rental occupancy. The countywide draft Short-Term Vacation Rental Ordinance reviewed in 2025 proposed tying occupancy to bedrooms - roughly two persons per bedroom plus two more per property (excluding children under 3) - but had not been adopted countywide.
Calaveras County does not require vacation-rental operators to carry liability insurance. Public review of the 2025 draft Short-Term Vacation Rental Ordinance specifically noted there was no requirement that an STR owner hold liability insurance to cover harm to neighbors' property. No adopted countywide insurance mandate existed as of mid-2025.
Calaveras County does not cap the number of nights a vacation rental may operate per year. The 2025 draft Short-Term Vacation Rental Ordinance favored a registration model with no annual night cap or density limit on the number of rentals in a neighborhood. The 30-day threshold simply marks where the 12% Transient Occupancy Tax applies.
Every unincorporated Calaveras County lodging rented for 30 nights or fewer must register with the County and obtain a Transient Occupancy Registration Certificate under Code Chapter 3.12 before collecting tax. Registration and TOT remittance run through the County's online STR portal operated by Deckard Technologies for the Tax Collector.
Calaveras County does not require an on-site host or resident manager at vacation rentals. The 2025 draft Short-Term Vacation Rental Ordinance stated that on-site resident managers are not required and that a rental may be managed by an off-site contact who is on call to respond to complaints. No adopted countywide host-presence rule existed as of mid-2025.
Calaveras County does not require a vacation rental to be the owner's primary residence. The 2025 draft Short-Term Vacation Rental Ordinance allowed non-owner-occupied, single-family short-term rentals managed by an off-site on-call manager; it did not impose a primary-residence-only or owner-occupancy restriction. Multifamily STR use, however, was generally disfavored.
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