Newport Beach, CA Short-Term Rentals: Night Caps (2026)
Key Facts
- Citywide permit cap
- 1,550 total STL permits
- Residential district cap
- 1,475 permits
- Multi-use area cap
- 75 permits
- Multi-unit building limit
- 20% of units, rounded down
- Waiting list response window
- 10 calendar days
- Governing section
- NBMC § 5.95.042
Summary
Newport Beach limits the total number of short term lodging permits citywide to 1,550. Residential districts are separately capped at 1,475 permits and the multi-use area at 75, with a further rule limiting multi-unit buildings of five or more units to 20 percent short term lodging conversion. Once a cap is hit, new applicants join a City waiting list.
The maximum number of short term lodging permits in a residential district shall be limited to one thousand four hundred seventy-five (1,475) permits at any time. … To avoid wholesale conversion of existing and new housing complexes into short term lodgings within the residential district, multi-unit developments with five (5) or more units may permit a maximum of twenty (20) percent of the total number of units to be short term lodgings (rounded down to the nearest whole number). … The maximum number of short term lodging permits in the multi-use area shall be limited to seventy-five (75) permits. … The total number of short term lodging permits in the City shall not exceed one thousand five hundred fifty (1,550).
Full Breakdown
042 sets three separate ceilings on short term lodging (STL) permits. Subsection (A) caps permits in residential districts at 1,475 at any time; if the City already held more than that count as of the effective date of Ordinance No. 2025-15, existing owners can still renew, reinstate or transfer their permits, but no new permit goes to anyone on the waiting list until the residential count drops back to 1,475. To stop entire apartment or condo complexes from converting to nightly rentals, subsection (A) also limits multi-unit developments of five or more units to a maximum of 20 percent of their total units operating as short term lodgings, rounded down to the nearest whole unit.
Subsection (B) sets a separate 75-permit ceiling for the multi-use area, and subsection (C) caps the combined citywide total at 1,550. When the City has issued the maximum permits available, the Administrative Services Director (and, under subsection (G), the Finance Director) must keep a waiting list; a spot opens by mailed notice, and the person notified has only 10 calendar days to apply before losing their place, unless the Director extends the deadline for good cause. 043 jump the waiting list ahead of new applicants.
Violations & Fines
There is no fine tied to the cap itself: it is enforced by simply refusing to issue new permits once a zone's ceiling is reached. An owner who lets a permit lapse past its 30-day renewal window, or who misses the 10 calendar days to respond to a waiting-list notice, is treated as abandoning the slot under §§ 5.95.030(B) and 5.95.042(D) and drops to the back of the line.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many short-term rental permits can Newport Beach issue?
What happens once Newport Beach reaches its rental permit cap?
Can an apartment complex convert all its units to short-term rentals?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Newport Beach
California rules heatmap·Compare Newport Beach to another location·View the California short-term rentals overview
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