Pomona, CA Short-Term Rentals: Host Platform Liability (2026)
Key Facts
- Liable parties
- Hosting platform, operator, and responsible party
- Reimbursement owed
- Full city investigative and enforcement costs
- Tax exposure
- Must repay unpaid transient occupancy tax
- Nuisance remedy
- Repeated violations enjoinable under Code Civ. Proc. § 731
- Appeal path
- Sec. 2-1188 appeal of director's decision
Summary
A hosting platform can be held directly liable in Pomona: Sec. 30-592(f) orders any person, hosting platform, or STR operator convicted or found liable for violating the STR division to reimburse the city's full investigative and enforcement costs, repay unpaid transient occupancy tax, and remit any illegally obtained rental revenue to the city.
(f)Any person, hosting platform, or STR operator convicted of violating any provision of this division in a criminal case or found to be in violation of this division in a civil or administrative action brought by the city shall be ordered to reimburse the city its full investigative and enforcement costs, pay back all unpaid TOT if applicable, and remit all illegally obtained rental related revenue to the city.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: City Code: Supplement 31).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 30-592(a) defines the violations a hosting platform can be swept into, including completing a booking transaction in the city without a valid city-issued STR permit number and completing a booking where the permit has been revoked or suspended. Sec. 30-592(b) lets the city issue an administrative citation under Sec. 2-1184 to the responsible party, any person leasing or occupying the property, or the property owner. Subsection (f) then attaches the financial consequence specifically to hosting platforms alongside operators: a criminal conviction or a civil or administrative finding of violation triggers an order to reimburse the city's full investigative and enforcement costs, pay back all unpaid transient occupancy tax, and remit any illegally obtained rental-related revenue.
Sec. 30-592(e) separately declares that repeated violations of the division constitute a public nuisance that the city can enjoin under Code of Civil Procedure § 731, a remedy that reaches platforms that keep listing unpermitted properties. Any hosting platform aggrieved by a director's decision may appeal under Sec. 2-1188, and Sec. 30-592(h) makes clear the remedies in the section are cumulative, not exclusive, so the city can pursue reimbursement alongside citations or nuisance abatement.
Violations & Fines
A hosting platform that completes a booking for an unpermitted or suspended STR, or that fails to remove an advertisement for one, is subject to an administrative citation under Sec. 2-1184 with a council-set fine, and on conviction or an adverse civil or administrative finding must reimburse the city's full investigative and enforcement costs, repay unpaid TOT, and remit illegally obtained rental revenue under Sec. 30-592(f). Repeated platform violations can also be enjoined as a public nuisance under Sec. 30-592(e).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Pomona hold a booking platform responsible for an illegal short-term rental listing?
What must a hosting platform repay if it processed bookings for an unpermitted Pomona STR?
Can Pomona shut down repeated illegal listings through the courts?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pomona
California rules heatmap·Compare Pomona to another location·View the California short-term rentals overview
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