Merced, CA Short-Term Rentals: Night Caps (2026)

Merced has not adopted any limit on the number of nights or days per year that a property may be rented short-term, because the city code contains no short-term-rental ordinance. There is no cap on hosted nights, no cap on unhosted nights, and no annual booking limit. The only time-based threshold the city code applies to transient lodging is the definition of a transient in Section 3.08.020: a person occupying for 30 consecutive calendar days or less. That 30-day line determines when the 10% Transient Occupancy Tax under Section 3.08.030 applies, not how many nights a property may be rented in a year. For accessory dwelling units, Section 20.42.040 takes the opposite approach to a cap by setting a floor: an ADU or JADU may be rented only for terms of at least 30 continuous days, which prohibits transient use of ADUs altogether. By contrast, the unincorporated Merced County STR program and many California cities adopt explicit night caps or limits on unhosted operation; the City of Merced has not. Hosts should be aware that the absence of a night cap reflects the absence of an STR ordinance, and the city could adopt regulations in the future; current rules should be confirmed with the city's planning division.