Berkeley holds platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo jointly responsible for verifying that every Berkeley listing displays a valid registration number, with daily fines for noncompliant bookings under the 2017 ordinance.
BMC 23.328 requires hosting platforms to collect and display a Berkeley-issued registration number on every listing, remit transient occupancy tax, and remove listings flagged by the City Manager within five business days. Platforms that process bookings for unregistered Berkeley properties face fines of 1,000 dollars per booking per day. The platform liability provision survived industry challenges by mirroring the San Francisco framework upheld by the Ninth Circuit in HomeAway v. Santa Monica.
Processing a booking without a verified Berkeley registration number incurs 1,000 dollars per booking per day, while ignoring delisting notices triggers escalating administrative penalties.
Berkeley, CA
Berkeley revokes short-term rental permits after three substantiated violations within twelve months, with revoked hosts barred from re-registering for two y...
Berkeley, CA
Berkeley requires a Short-Term Rental (STR) permit for rentals under 14 consecutive days. STRs are limited to owner-occupied primary residences with a strict...
See how other cities in Alameda County handle host platform liability.
See how Berkeley's host platform liability rules stack up against other locations.
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