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

Section 5.76.060.A is the core rule that separates Gardena's 'home sharing' from an unhosted short-term rental: the host must reside on site in a bedroom, within the home sharing rental, during the entire time guests are present. The code does not leave 'reside on site' to interpretation. Section 5.76.020 defines 'lives on site' as maintaining a physical presence in the rental, including storing one's clothes and other personal effects, sleeping overnight, preparing and eating meals, and engaging in the other activities typical of someone residing in a dwelling unit, a standard clearly meant to screen out absentee owners who merely check a box.

The presence rule dovetails with the permit eligibility test in Section 5.76.040.B: an owner who does not live on site can still authorize home sharing only through a qualifying tenant who does live there and whose lease specifically permits it, but the presence requirement itself never lifts, someone must be on site in a bedroom whenever a guest is. Section 5.76.070.B.3 requires advertising to disclose that the host will be present at all times during the rental, giving the city and prospective guests a public representation to check against.

An unhosted stay, where no host or qualifying tenant remains on the property, is instead treated as a prohibited short-term rental under Section 5.76.120.E, which specifically bars short-term lodging outside a permitted home sharing arrangement.