Riverside County, CA Short-Term Rentals: Extended Home Share (2026)
Key Facts
- STR threshold
- Under thirty days
- Long stays
- Tenancy law applies
- AB 1482 trigger
- Twelve months occupied
- Costa-Hawkins
- Protects SFRs
Summary
Riverside County Ordinance 927 defines short-term rentals as stays of fewer than thirty consecutive days. Bookings of thirty days or longer are treated as ordinary rental tenancies and fall under California landlord-tenant law rather than the county STR program.
(e) This section shall not apply to the following types of residential real properties or residential circumstances: (1) Transient and tourist hotel occupancy as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 1940. (2) Housing accommodations in a nonprofit hospital, religious facility, extended care facility, licensed residential care facility for the elderly, as defined in Section 1569.2 of the Health and Safety Code, or an adult residential facility, as defined in Chapter 6 of Division 6 of Title 22 of the Manual of Policies and Procedures published by the State Department of Social Services. (3) Dormitories owned and operated by an institution of higher education or a kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, school. (4) Housing accommodations in which the tenant shares bathroom or kitchen facilities with the owner who maintains their principal residence at the residential real property. (5) Single-family owner-occupied residences, including both of the following: (A) A residence in which the owner-occupant rents or leases no more than two units or bedrooms, including, but not limited to, an accessory dwelling unit or a junior accessory dwelling unit. (B) A mobilehome. (6) A property containing two separate dwelling units within a single structure in which the owner occupied one of the units as the owner's principal place of residence at the beginning of the tenancy, so long as the owner continues in occupancy, and neither unit is an accessory dwelling unit or a junior accessory dwelling unit. (7) Housing that has been issued a certificate of occupancy within the previous 15 years, unless the housing is a mobilehome.
Full Breakdown
When a guest signs a single contract for thirty or more consecutive nights at a Riverside County property, the unit is no longer regulated as a short-term rental. The booking becomes a residential tenancy subject to California Civil Code rules on notices to quit, security deposits, and habitability. Costa-Hawkins still exempts most single-family detached homes from local rent caps, but AB 1482 statewide rent and just-cause protections may apply once the tenant has occupied the unit for twelve months. STR certificate holders must track stay length carefully to avoid inadvertently creating a regulated tenancy.
Violations & Fines
Misclassifying a long-stay tenant as an STR guest can expose the owner to wrongful-eviction claims and AB 1482 statutory damages.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I take a 35-day Airbnb booking as an STR?
Does TOT apply to long stays?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Riverside County
California rules heatmap·Compare Riverside County to another location·View the California short-term rentals overview
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