Santa Clara County, CA Short-Term Rentals: Night Caps (2026)

Unincorporated Santa Clara County does not cap the number of nights per year that a property may operate as a short-term rental, because it has not adopted a dedicated short-term-rental ordinance that would set such a limit. This is a notable difference from several incorporated cities in the county, which limit unhosted or whole-home rentals to a set number of nights annually; those city caps do not apply to unincorporated parcels. The only night-related threshold in the County framework is the definition of a 'transient' for tax purposes: under the Transient Occupancy Tax Ordinance (Sec. A30-49), occupancy of 30 days or less is taxable, and a guest is deemed a transient until the period of 30 days has expired. That threshold determines when the eight-percent TOT applies to a given stay; it is not an annual limit on total rental activity. The number of nights a property can be rented over a year is therefore constrained only by the underlying zoning for the parcel and any conditions on a discretionary permit, not by a fixed STR night cap. Hosts should still verify that the intensity and character of their rental use are consistent with their zoning district, and should confirm any parcel-specific conditions with the County Department of Planning and Development.