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

Sec. 4911 places direct compliance obligations on advertising platforms, defined in Sec. 4901(b) as any marketplace that facilitates short-term rentals through advertising or matchmaking and derives revenue such as booking fees. Subsection (a) requires platforms to disclose to the City, on a regular basis, each short-term rental listing located in Pacifica, the names of the persons responsible for the listing, its address, the length of stay for each booking and the price paid. Subsection (b) is the platform-side enforcement mechanism: a platform may not complete any booking transaction for a short-term rental unless that rental is listed on the registry the City creates and maintains under Sec.

4904(j), at the moment the platform collects its booking fee. Subsection (c) creates a safe harbor for an internet-only platform that complies with subsections (a) and (b): it is presumed compliant with Article 49, though it remains on the hook for the article's administrative subpoena provisions, under which the City Manager can have the City Attorney subpoena a platform's records on a listing, giving 30 days before production is required. Subsection (d) limits the whole section to what is consistent with applicable state and federal law, and the section will not apply to the extent a court or the City determines it is preempted.

The registry itself, required by Sec. 4904(j), is published on the City's website and sent electronically to any platform on request, giving platforms the means to check compliance before listing a property.