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

Municipal Code § 5.120.040(C) states plainly that unhosted STRs are prohibited in the City of Huntington Beach except in Zone 2, which the ordinance defines as property within the Sunset Beach Specific Plan; everywhere else (Zone 1) an STR may only operate as a "hosted stay," meaning the host remains on-site in a habitable unit throughout the guest's occupancy except during daytime or work hours, per the § 5.120.020 definition. Sunset Beach property owners who were already running unhosted rentals got a narrow grace period: they had until March 1, 2022 to obtain an STR Permit, and after that date the City stopped issuing any new unhosted permits, capping the unhosted category permanently.

The Director of Community Development administers permits under § 5.120.030 and can deny, condition, suspend, or revoke them for noncompliance. Because the host is legally the required on-site presence, § 5.120.030(E)(4) also requires a local contact person available 24/7 to respond to complaints within one hour; if the STR is hosted, the host must serve as that contact. Operating an unhosted rental outside Sunset Beach, or continuing an unpermitted unhosted rental in Sunset Beach past the 2022 cutoff, is enforced as a permit violation under § 5.120.070.