Bellflower, CA Short-Term Rentals: Host Presence Rule (2026)

A host-presence (owner-on-site) requirement is a feature of city ordinances that permit home-sharing while limiting whole-home rentals. Bellflower has not adopted such an ordinance, so there is no rule requiring or excusing a host's presence during a stay - the code does not contemplate residential short-term rental as a permitted use at all. There is no provision allowing a hosted rental of a spare bedroom, and none allowing an unhosted whole-home rental; both fall outside what Bellflower's zoning permits in residential areas. Bellflower's code instead frames temporary lodging around the hotel definition, in which the owner or operator retains direct control of and right of access to the rented premises and a transient occupies a room for 30 consecutive days or less - characteristics of a managed lodging business in a commercial zone, not a resident occasionally hosting guests. The city's ADU regulations reinforce this by barring rentals of accessory units for terms shorter than 30 days regardless of whether the owner lives on the property. Because there is no STR permit, the city does not collect or verify any 24/7 local-contact or owner-on-premises information for home rentals. Owners who believe a particular arrangement might fall outside the prohibition should confirm with the Planning Division rather than rely on host-presence concepts borrowed from other cities.