13 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 8 cities in Riverside County, California.
Verified from official government sources
Unincorporated Riverside County requires a Short Term Rental Certificate from the Planning Department before renting or advertising any STR (Ordinance No. 927). It is unlawful to operate without one. Certificates are valid one year and must be renewed annually. Separate certificates are required for each rental property.
Ordinance No. 927 requires STR occupants to comply with the County noise ordinance (No. 847), including quiet hours from 10 PM to 7 AM, and the loud-party ordinance (No. 924). Operators must install and continuously run an exterior Noise Monitor and respond to complaints within 60 minutes.
Unincorporated Riverside County imposes a 10% transient occupancy tax on STR rent (Ordinance No. 495), remitted quarterly to the Treasurer-Tax Collector. The Short Term Rental Certificate carries a $740 initial application fee and $540 annual renewal fee under Ordinance No. 671.22, plus any applicable TBID/TMD assessments.
Ordinance No. 927 requires one on-site parking space for every four approved occupants. Spaces must be in an approved driveway, garage, or carport-off-site parking is prohibited. The required number and location of spaces must be posted inside the rental and disclosed in advertisements.
Ordinance No. 927 ties STR occupancy to lot size: 10 occupants on lots of a half-acre or less, 16 on lots over a half-acre up to two acres, and 20 on lots over two acres, capped at 200 square feet per person. Wine Country adds Class I (10) and Class II (20) classifications.
Ordinance No. 927 does NOT require short-term rental operators to carry liability insurance. It instead requires an executed indemnification and hold-harmless agreement with the County at application. Operators should still consider private STR insurance, which is not mandated by county code.
Ordinance No. 927 sets no annual cap on the number of nights a short-term rental may operate. The only stay-length rule is that each rental must be under 30 consecutive days but at least two consecutive days and one night. The County instead limits total rental counts in Idyllwild and Wine Country.
Operators register with the Planning Department for an annually renewable Short Term Rental Certificate and separately register with the Treasurer-Tax Collector for a transient occupancy tax certificate (Ordinance No. 495). Owners must also notify nearby property owners within 10 days of approval, and certificates cannot be transferred to new owners.
Ordinance No. 927 does not require the host to be physically present, but a Responsible Operator or Local Contact Person must be available 24/7 and able to respond to complaints within 60 minutes. Hosted Stays, where the owner occupies the unit, are an allowed option permitting up to five rented rooms.
Ordinance No. 927 does NOT require a short-term rental to be the owner's primary residence. Non-owner-occupied (unhosted) whole-home rentals are allowed countywide. Instead, the County limits investor concentration in Idyllwild and Wine Country through ownership caps, density spacing, and overall rental caps.
Riverside County Ordinance 927 authorizes a graduated enforcement system. After repeated violations within a rolling twelve-month period, the county may suspend or revoke a short-term rental certificate, barring the property from operating again for a fixed cooling-off period.
Riverside County requires online hosting platforms to display the local STR certificate number on every listing for unincorporated parcels. Platforms that knowingly host unpermitted Wine Country or unincorporated RivCo properties face enforcement and may be required to delist non-compliant units.
8 cities in Riverside County have their own short-term rentals rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
13 verified rules • Extended Home Share, Host Platform Liability
8 verified rules • Insurance Requirements, Night Caps
8 verified rules • Insurance Requirements, Night Caps
8 verified rules • Insurance Requirements, Night Caps
8 verified rules • Insurance Requirements, Night Caps
12 verified rules • Extended Home Share, Host Platform Liability
11 verified rules • Extended Home Share, Host Presence Rule
8 verified rules • Insurance Requirements, Night Caps
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