Pismo Beach, CA Short-Term Rentals: Host Presence Rule (2026)
Key Facts
- Homestay rental days
- No limit while the owner is concurrently on-site
- Short-term rental without owner on site
- Maximum of 182 rental days per year
- Where printed
- 1983 § 17.113.050; 1998 § 17.09.050
- Who registers the license
- The property owner, not a property management company
- Minimum administrative fine
- Seven hundred and fifty dollars, then one thousand dollars
Summary
In the City of Pismo Beach, California, a homestay is an owner-occupied home with no yearly cap on rental days, provided the property owner is concurrently on-site. A short-term rental run while the owner is away is capped at 182 rental days a year, and both need the same city license.
B. "Homestay" shall mean an owner-occupied, detached single-family residence where bedrooms are rented for compensation for less than thirty (30) consecutive days. ... F. ... "Short-term rental" or "STR" shall mean the rental of a detached single-family residence or accessory dwelling unit for less than thirty (30) consecutive days where the primary residence is not being concurrently occupied by the owner. ... Homestays shall be regulated in the same manner as short-term rentals with the exception of allowed frequency. For homestays, there is no limit to the number of rental days allowed per year, subject to the property owner being concurrently on-site during the homestay. ... Homestays shall be regulated in the same manner as short-term rentals with the exception of allowed frequency. For homestays, there is no limit to the number of rental days allowed per year, subject to the property owner being concurrently on-site during the homestay.
Full Breakdown
The Pismo Beach Municipal Code prints its short-term rental chapter twice, as Chapter 17.113 in the 1983 Zoning Ordinance and Chapter 17.09 in the 1998 Zoning Code, and the homestay sentence is identical in both: § 17.113.050 and § 17.09.050.
The owner's presence is what separates the two uses. The 1983 chapter defines a homestay as an owner-occupied, detached single-family residence where bedrooms are rented for compensation for less than thirty consecutive days. A short-term rental is the rental of a detached single-family residence or accessory dwelling unit for less than thirty consecutive days where the primary residence is not being concurrently occupied by the owner. Homestays are regulated the same as short-term rentals except for frequency, so the standards below apply to both.
The frequency rule is in § 17.113.070 E: a qualifying short-term rental is limited to a maximum of 182 rental days per year without the owner concurrently on site, and there is no limit for homestays during which the owner is concurrently on site. The code does not define what concurrent presence means beyond those words.
Both uses need a short-term rental license from the City of Pismo Beach. The property owner, not a property management company, must register the home, and owners within three hundred feet are notified. The licensee must also name a responsible party, a person over the age of eighteen who is legally responsible for compliance by all renters and visitors and who signs the good neighbor policy. Maximum overnight occupancy is two people per bedroom, plus two additional people, and the count includes children.
The owner's presence does not exempt a homestay from the city's license cap in § 5.22.130 A, which limits all short-term and homestay licenses to twenty-eight at any given time.
Pismo Beach uses two adopted zoning codes. The city's Zoning and Land Use page states that properties inside the Coastal Zone are regulated by the 1983 Zoning Code, and properties outside the Coastal Zone are regulated by the 1998 Zoning Code.
Violations & Fines
Violating the short-term rental chapter is unlawful under § 17.113.100 A in the 1983 Zoning Ordinance and § 17.09.100 A in the 1998 Zoning Code, punishable as a misdemeanor or as an administrative violation. The initial administrative fine is at a minimum seven hundred and fifty dollars, and at a minimum one thousand dollars for each subsequent violation. Each separate day or rental night can count as its own violation, and advertising an unlicensed home for rent is itself a violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a homestay in Pismo Beach?
Does the owner have to be home to rent out a house in Pismo Beach?
Can a property manager hold the license?
How many people can stay in a homestay?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pismo Beach
California rules heatmap·Compare Pismo Beach to another location·View the California short-term rentals overview
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