Fountain Valley, CA Short-Term Rentals: Host Platform Liability (2026)

Chapter 4.95 of the Fountain Valley Municipal Code, added by Ordinance 1591 in 2022, prohibits short-term rentals in the City of Fountain Valley and names hosting platforms among the parties it reaches. Section 4.95.020 defines a hosting platform as a person or entity that takes part in home-sharing or short-term rentals by collecting or receiving a fee, directly or through an agent or intermediary, for conducting a booking transaction using any medium of facilitation. The code lists VRBO.com, Airbnb.com and homestay.com as examples and extends the definition to internet and non-internet services that facilitate bookings for a fee.

The prohibitions in § 4.95.030 list the hosting platform right alongside the owner, person, firm and corporation. None of them can offer or make available a short-term rental property in the city, operate one, or post, publish, circulate, broadcast, maintain or advertise one. A short-term rental is any residential dwelling or portion of one rented for 30 consecutive days or less, whether hosted (owner living in the unit) or unhosted (owner off-site).

The code frames the chapter as declaratory of existing law because short-term rentals were never a permitted use under the city's zoning regulations. Section 4.95.010 also lists collecting transient occupancy taxes and preserving the residential character of neighborhoods as purposes. Under § 4.95.040, any violation of the chapter by a hosting platform is itself unlawful and a public nuisance, so the platform is a named violator alongside the owner.