Contra Costa County, CA Short-Term Rentals: Host Presence Rule (2026)

Chapter 88-32, the county's Short-Term Rental Ordinance adopted by Ordinance 2020-12, turns on a single definitional line. Section 88-32.206(c) defines 'hosted' to mean that a host has a physical presence at the host's primary residence located on the same lot as a short-term rental during the entire period that the short-term rental is rented. A host, per Section 88-32.206(b), is a person who occupies as their primary residence a residential dwelling unit located on the same lot as a short-term rental, and a primary residence under Section 88-32.206(e) is a unit the person physically occupies and lives in on a day-to-day basis, limited to one residence per person.

The presence requirement isn't just definitional; it drives the application itself. Section 88-32.406(a)(2) requires an applicant seeking hosted status to document the host's primary residence with at least two forms of proof, such as a driver's license, vehicle registration, voter registration, income tax return, property tax bill, or utility bill. Whether a rental is hosted also changes what the permit allows: under Section 88-32.602(c), a non-hosted rental caps out at ninety days a year, while a hosted rental, where the host's continuous presence is verified, can run up to one hundred eighty days a year.