San Jose distinguishes hosted short-term rentals (host onsite during stay) from unhosted rentals (host away) under SJMC Section 20.80.140, allowing hosted stays without an annual cap and unhosted stays only at the host's primary residence with a 180-night annual limit.
SJMC Section 20.80.140 (Incidental Transient Occupancy of Residential Properties) splits short-term rentals into two categories. Hosted occupancy means a permanent resident is onsite during the entire guest stay; this category has no annual nightly cap. Unhosted occupancy means the host is offsite while paying guests use the dwelling; this is limited to the host's primary residence and capped at 180 nights per calendar year. Maximum guest counts scale with bedroom count. The host must register with the Finance Department, collect Transient Occupancy Tax, and post a contact responsive within sixty minutes. Platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo must verify registration and remit TOT under city collection agreements.
Operating without registration, exceeding the 180-night unhosted cap, misrepresenting hosted versus unhosted status, or failing to remit Transient Occupancy Tax leads to citations, registration revocation, and back tax assessment.
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San Jose, CA
Unhosted short-term rentals in San Jose are permitted only at the host's primary residence under SJMC Section 20.80.140, defined as the dwelling the host occ...
San Jose, CA
San Jose caps unhosted short-term rentals at 180 nights per calendar year under Municipal Code Chapter 20.80. Hosted rentals, where the operator remains on-s...
San Jose, CA
San Jose regulates STRs under SJMC §20.80 Part 2.5. Hosts must obtain a business tax certificate. Owner-occupied rentals have unlimited days; non-owner-occup...
See how San Jose's host presence rule rules stack up against other locations.
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