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

Many STR ordinances require the host to be on-site during stays or to designate a local responsible person reachable 24/7. Unincorporated Imperial County imposes neither, because no dedicated short-term-rental ordinance has been adopted. The Title 9 Land Use Ordinance does not include a host-presence mandate, a local-contact requirement, or a response-time standard for transient rentals. The closest analog in the code is the home-occupation framework (§ 90404), which is expressly limited to single-person, owner-conducted uses so unobtrusive that a neighbor would normally be unaware of them — and renting out a dwelling to transients is not among the permitted home occupations, so that on-premises model does not extend to STRs. For genuine commercial lodging such as a hotel, motel, or guest ranch, the hotel/motel parking standard even contemplates a manager's quarters, but that reflects commercial operation rather than a host-presence rule for ordinary rentals. Where a lodging use requires a Conditional Use Permit, the County can attach operating conditions — potentially including a local contact or management requirement — through that discretionary review. Absent such a permit, there is no county rule compelling host presence. As a practical matter, because noise and nuisance issues are enforced through general provisions, providing a reachable local contact helps an operator respond before complaints escalate to abatement.