San Diego County, CA Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)
Key Facts
- Applies to
- Unincorporated County only
- Apartment house threshold
- 3+ dwelling units
- Hotel threshold
- 6+ guest rooms
- Permit required
- Annual, from Dir. of Environmental Health
- Repeat violation
- 3rd offense in 2 yrs = misdemeanor
Summary
Unincorporated San Diego County requires an annual Department of Environmental Health permit before any apartment house of three or more units, hotel of six or more rooms, or co-located rental unit can be occupied. The Director enforces state sanitation and ventilation law.
The Director of Environmental Health, in addition to their other duties, is hereby designated as the officer to enforce and is charged with the enforcement of the provisions of the State Housing Law pertaining to sanitation, ventilation, use or occupancy of apartment houses, dwellings and hotels within the unincorporated territory of the County. ... It shall be unlawful to occupy, or to permit to be occupied, any apartment house or hotel or co-located rental unit now or hereafter erected, constructed, reconstructed, altered, converted or moved, as the case may be, or any portion thereof, for human habitation without an annual permit therefor issued by the Director.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-141: Administrative: Current through Ord. No. 11007 (N.S.), effective 7-10-26 | Regulatory: Current through Ord. No. 11008 (N.S.), effective 7-24-26).
Full Breakdown
908) designates the Director of Environmental Health as the officer charged with enforcing the State Housing Law's sanitation, ventilation, and occupancy standards for apartment houses, dwellings and hotels in the unincorporated territory. 903 defines an apartment house as a building with three or more dwelling units and a hotel as a building or set of buildings under common ownership with six or more guest rooms rented for sleeping purposes; a 'co-located rental unit' is any other rental unit on the same premises under the same ownership or management as an apartment house.
107(b), which computes the fee by counting all such buildings under common ownership on one or contiguous parcels as a single apartment house or hotel. 908 separately recovers sampling, laboratory and project-oversight costs for lead-hazard investigations, charged to the property owner.
Violations & Fines
Section 66.906 makes a first or second violation of the chapter an infraction, but a third or subsequent conviction within two years of the first becomes a misdemeanor, and each day the violation continues is charged as a separate offense. Beyond criminal penalties, the Director can bill the owner an hourly enforcement fee under Section 66.907 for any inspection that finds a condition requiring correction, plus laboratory and oversight costs under Section 66.908 for lead-hazard cases.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the County inspect my rental home for habitability?
What if my apartment building operates without the required permit?
Who enforces sanitation and ventilation rules for rentals in the unincorporated county?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in San Diego County
California rules heatmap·Compare San Diego County to another location·View the California rental property rules overview
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