Santa Cruz County, CA Short-Term Rentals: Host Presence Rule (2026)

694(C)(5) builds host presence into the definition itself: a "hosted rental" is a legal dwelling unit with two or more bedrooms where a long-term resident acting as host occupies one or more bedrooms while no more than three legal bedrooms are rented for stays of 30 days or less. The definition draws a sharp line against the county's other rental category by specifying that a "permitted non-hosted rental in which the entire home is rented while no host is present" does not count as hosted.

10 SCCC (an Administrative Use Permit if the property has a permitted JADU), and they're allowed in any legal dwelling unit with three bedrooms or fewer in a zone district where residential use is permitted. Properties with a permitted Junior ADU may be used as a hosted rental only if the property owner or an immediate family member resides on the property. The performance standards in (D)(8)(d) reinforce the presence requirement in practice: guest capacity is capped at three people per hosted bedroom, unaccompanied minors under 18 cannot rent, cooking is barred in guest rooms, and hosted rental permits require an affidavit verifying egress, sanitation, and smoke/carbon monoxide detectors in the rented rooms.