Santa Cruz County, CA Short-Term Rentals: Host Platform Liability (2026)

695 puts direct legal duties on the hosting platforms themselves, meaning Airbnb, Vrbo, and any similar booking site. Subject to applicable law, a platform must disclose to the county the URL and permit number for every short-term rental listing located in the county, and it must require every owner using the platform to include a valid permit number in the listing by the time the platform collects its booking fee. If the county notifies a platform that a listing lacks a valid permit number, or that the number is invalid, expired, or revoked, identifying the listing by URL and stating the reason, the platform has 10 business days to take the listing down.

24. 695(E), though it still has to answer administrative subpoenas. 13. The county can also serve a platform with an administrative subpoena to obtain listing details, including host names, addresses, length of stay, and price paid, giving the platform at least 30 days before compliance is due and a window to seek judicial review. 696(C) and recover attorney's fees if they prevail. Both sections include a preemption savings clause: they will not apply if the county itself determines they violate, or are preempted by, state or federal law.