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

Hawthorne Municipal Code Section 17.74.060(H) is the chapter's stand-in for a host-presence rule: it requires round-the-clock availability rather than mandatory on-site lodging. It provides, "Twenty-four hour contact information contained in the application will be shared with the Hawthorne police department. Either the applicant or owner must be personally available by telephone on a twenty-four-hour basis to respond to calls regarding the conditions and/or operation of the short-term rental. The designated person(s) must respond to an initial call within two hours and must commence action within twenty-four hours of the initial call to address any violation of this chapter." This obligation traces back to the application stage: Section 17.74.020(A)(1) and (2) require the twenty-four hour local emergency contact information of both the applicant and, if different, the property owner, before a permit issues.

The chapter does distinguish an "un-hosted stay," defined in Section 17.74.010 as one where the host is off-site during the guest's stay, from a "hosted stay," where the host remains on-site throughout except during work hours, but neither designation changes the twenty-four hour contact-and-response duty in Section 17.74.060(H), which applies to every permitted short-term rental regardless of whether the host is physically present.