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

110(A)(5) is the City of Sonoma's substitute for a physical host-presence rule: rather than requiring an owner or manager to live on site or stay overnight with guests, the code requires a property manager who is available 24 hours per day, seven days per week during all times that the property is rented or used on a transient basis. The manager does not have to be the property owner and does not have to be physically present at the rental; the operative requirement is availability, meaning someone with authority to respond can be reached around the clock while the unit is occupied by transient guests.

The name and contact information for that property manager must be filed with the city planning department, and the code specifically requires the city to make it available to any interested person on request, which lets a neighbor with a noise or occupancy complaint get in touch directly rather than going through the city first. This manager-availability duty runs alongside the rental's other continuing obligations, including compliance with the amplified-sound ban and general noise ordinance in (A)(4), the overnight occupancy cap in (A)(3), and the fire and life-safety and annual inspection requirements in (A)(9) and (A)(10).

A vacation rental that lists a disconnected phone number or an unreachable manager is out of compliance with (A)(5) even if no other rule is broken. This requirement governs vacation rentals inside the City of Sonoma only.