10 rules for unincorporated Mendocino County, California.
Verified from official government sources
In unincorporated Mendocino County, vacation rentals are regulated differently by zone. Coastal-zone rentals need a business license plus any required coastal development permit; the Town of Mendocino requires County certification (deemed a minor use permit). Inland areas had no STR permit rules; a countywide ordinance is in development.
Mendocino County Code Sec. 20.748.015 (Regulation)
Prior to the issuance of any new license for a Single Unit Rental or Vacation Home Rental, the Applicant must first apply to the Department of Planning and Building Services for certification... Certification by the Department of Planning and Building Services shall be deemed to satisfy the minor use permitting requirements of this Chapter for licensed Single Unit Rentals and Vacation Home Rent...
Coastal and Town vacation rentals must not create noise exceeding the County General Plan's exterior and interior noise standards (Tables 3-J and 3-L). Mendocino County lacks a stand-alone numeric noise ordinance, so the proposed inland rules rely on a Good Neighbor Policy and complaint-based enforcement instead.
Mendocino County Code Sec. 20.748.020(H) (Noise Limitations)
Vacation Home Rental and/or Single Unit Rental uses shall not create noise impacts to surrounding properties and uses that exceed noise standards set out in the County's General Plan Development Element, Table 3-J, Exterior Noise Level Standards (Levels not to be Exceeded More than 30 Minutes in an Hour) and Table 3-L, Maximum Acceptable Interior Noise Levels Created by Exterior Noise Sources.
Unincorporated Mendocino County levies a Transient Occupancy Tax of 10% on the rent paid for stays under 30 days, collected since 1965. Licensed coastal and Town vacation rentals are expressly subject to the County's Uniform Transient Occupancy Tax, plus a County Business License Tax under Chapter 6.04.
Mendocino County's adopted STR provisions do not set a dedicated short-term-rental parking ratio. Rentals rely on the parking required for the underlying dwelling, and a proposed inland Good Neighbor Policy would have guests informed about parking expectations rather than mandating a numeric count. Coastal rentals must also meet Coastal Act and emergency-access requirements.
Mendocino County's zoning code does not set a single numeric guest-per-bedroom occupancy cap for vacation rentals. Instead, coastal and Town rentals are limited by their underlying single-family dwelling use, building/health codes, and (in the Coastal Zone) restrictions tying rentals to one existing dwelling. The proposed inland ordinance had not set occupancy numbers as of mid-2026.
Mendocino County's adopted short-term rental rules do not impose a specific liability-insurance mandate. No insurance amount appears in Chapter 20.748 or the coastal provisions, and the proposed inland ordinance (as directed in February 2026) emphasized a Good Neighbor Policy, fire/safety information, and three-strike enforcement rather than an insurance requirement.
Mendocino County does not cap the number of nights a short-term rental may operate per year. The 'short-term' threshold is occupancy under 30 days (which triggers TOT), and the Board rejected limits on rental numbers. The one numeric cap is on the count of licensed rentals in the Town of Mendocino, not on annual nights.
Coastal and Town rentals must register through Planning and Building Services certification and the County business license process, and the County keeps a status log of licensed rentals. A 2017 moratorium (Ord. 4391) paused new coastal and inland establishments while comprehensive rules were developed.
Mendocino County does not require a host to be on-site during stays. Unhosted whole-home vacation rentals are the dominant model, and the proposed inland ordinance leaned toward requiring a responsible local contact (via a Good Neighbor Policy) rather than mandating host presence. A separate 'room and board' option allows hosted single-room rentals in the Coastal Zone.
Mendocino County does not require short-term rentals to be the operator's primary residence. The Board of Supervisors expressly rejected an owner-occupancy mandate for the proposed inland ordinance, and the coastal/Town rules instead restrict rentals to a single legal dwelling without requiring the owner to live there.
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