Cathedral City, CA Short-Term Rentals: Insurance Requirements (2026)

Section 5.96.040(H) of the Cathedral City Municipal Code requires the owner to provide proof of short-term vacation rental insurance that covers the rental of the property as a short-term vacation rental. The policy limits are not printed in the code: they are the limits "as may be established by the city manager and amended from time to time." Proof must be provided at the time of both initial and renewal permit issuance and must remain in effect for the duration of the annual permit. Failure to maintain the insurance results in suspension of the permit, and the owner has no discretion about it.

The insurance requirement sits beside a second financial protection for the city. Section 5.96.040(E)(9) lists an executed indemnification and hold harmless agreement, in a form approved by the city attorney, among the application items, and § 5.96.040(I) requires each application to contain it. In that agreement the owner agrees to indemnify, hold harmless and defend the city, the Cathedral City City Council individually and collectively, and the city's representatives, officers, officials, employees, agents and volunteers against claims, damages, fines, suits, judgments, penalties, losses and costs arising out of the actions or inaction of the owner, the owner's authorized agent or representative, or the local contact person in the operation, occupancy, use or maintenance of the property.

The rest of the permit file supports both. The application also carries an affidavit signed by the owner under penalty of perjury (§ 5.96.040(G)), a signed consent to a health and safety inspection (§ 5.96.040(K)), and an application, inspection and registration fee set by city council resolution (§ 5.96.040(J)). An application is denied if the owner fails to provide any of the required application information (§ 5.96.040(N)(6)). Because a home share is a form of short-term vacation rental, and the chapter applies its STVR provisions to home sharing unless expressly provided otherwise, the same insurance proof applies to a home share permit in Cathedral City.