San Bernardino County does not impose a countywide annual night cap on STRs, but Development Code Chapter 84.28 lets community plan overlays and Good Neighbor conditions limit rental nights locally.
Unlike coastal California jurisdictions that cap STR nights to control housing impacts, San Bernardino County does not apply a blanket annual night cap on permitted short-term rentals in its unincorporated territory. Permits issued under Development Code Chapter 84.28 are generally valid year-round, provided the operator maintains the TOT certificate, insurance, and permit conditions. However, the County may impose community-specific limits through community plan overlays or Good Neighbor Program conditions. For example, Bear Valley, Lake Arrowhead, Joshua Tree, and Pioneertown have adopted stricter local rules through the STR Ordinance updates that emphasize density caps, buffers from other STRs, and stricter enforcement rather than a strict night cap. Incorporated cities inside the county set their own caps: Big Bear Lake has debated but not adopted a night cap; Twentynine Palms and Yucca Valley have imposed STR moratoriums or caps on new permits in recent cycles. Operators should check their specific permit and community overlay rules each year, since the policy environment in mountain and desert tourism regions is evolving quickly.
Operating more nights than allowed in a capped overlay or city would violate permit conditions and could trigger administrative citations or permit revocation under Chapter 84.28 or the relevant city code.
See how San Bernardino County's night caps rules stack up against other locations.
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