Lake County, CA Rental Property Rules: Rental Registration (2026)

Lake County Code § 9-30 declares that no person shall operate any apartment house, hotel, motel or lodging house in the unincorporated areas of the County of Lake without first obtaining a Certificate of Occupancy and Operating Permit from the Lake County Health Department. The code defines an apartment house broadly, as any building or portion of a building containing three or more apartments or dwelling units, so this permit requirement reaches ordinary small multi-unit rental buildings, not just commercial lodging. The permit is not a one-time approval: Section 9-30(a) sets it to expire every December 31st, starting December 31, 1966, and it also expires immediately on any change in ownership, operation, occupancy or physical facilities, forcing a fresh application whenever a rental building changes hands or its use changes.

2 gives the Lake County Health Officer or the Board of Supervisors discretion to revoke the permit for cause, expressly including any violation of the state Health and Safety Code or of current Lake County codes; a revoked permit is reinstated by the Health Department only after the owner completes the required improvements or abates the violation. Because the permit ties directly to the physical condition of the building and its occupancy, an owner who lets conditions slide risks losing the right to operate the property as a rental until the Health Department signs off on the fix.

The requirement traces to Ordinance No. 483, adopted in 1966, and remains the operative rule for apartment houses, hotels, motels and lodging houses in the unincorporated county today.