Santa Rosa, CA Privacy & Surveillance: Doorbell Camera Disclosures (2026)

070(B)(2): all video surveillance, or any mechanism that can be used to capture or transmit audio, video, or still images on site, must be disclosed to Short-Term Renters. The rule is written broadly on purpose, covering not just visible security cameras but doorbell cameras, baby monitors with video or audio capability, and any other recording or transmitting device anywhere on the property, indoors or out. 070(B), the chapter's 'Life, safety requirements' subsection, alongside the mandatory landline or VoIP emergency line with SoCoAlert or 'Reverse 911' registration, the posted evacuation checklist, the 'Know Your Alerts' and 'Know Your Ways Out' materials, and the exit, fire, and gas-shutoff signage every Short-Term Rental must display.

Because it is grouped with these other life-safety postings, the City treats camera disclosure as baseline guest-safety information rather than an optional courtesy: a Short-Term Rental Permit holder is expected to tell renters, before or at check-in, exactly what recording devices exist on the property. 070(A)(5) reinforces this by requiring a copy of the Short-Term Rental Permit and its accompanying requirements to be posted within the rental and included in every rental agreement, which is where hosts commonly place the camera disclosure alongside the other required notices.

The chapter does not carve out an exemption for exterior-only or doorbell cameras: any device 'that can be used to capture or transmit audio, video, or still images on site' triggers the disclosure duty, regardless of where on the property it sits or whether it records continuously or only on motion.