Brentwood, CA Garage & Yard Sales: Frequency, Duration & Permits (2026)

Chapter 17.850 of the Brentwood Municipal Code sets up the citywide temporary use permit system, but Section 17.850.006 exempts a short list of everyday activities from having to get one at all. Garage sales are on that list, subsection E, so a resident can hold one without ever filing an application, so long as the sale stays within the numeric caps the code sets: no more than three garage sales per year, and no single sale running longer than two consecutive days. Other automatically exempt uses on the same list include on-site construction yards tied to an active building permit, emergency public health and safety activities, events on sites already approved for public assembly such as schools or theaters, and fund-raising car washes limited to two days a month for a sponsoring nonprofit.

If a resident wants to hold a sale more often, or keep one running longer than two days, the exemption in Section 17.850.006(E) simply does not cover it, and Section 17.850.004 requires a valid temporary use permit before the activity can be conducted or maintained at all. Because a fourth annual sale or a three-day sale falls outside the categories the community development director is authorized to permit under Section 17.850.007, which lists agricultural produce sales, outdoor retail sales, and similar commercial temporary uses rather than residential garage sales, there is no path to a permit for exceeding the cap; the resident simply has to wait for the next calendar year or split the sale back down to two days.