Santa Rosa, CA Short-Term Rentals: Night Caps (2026)
Key Facts
- Non-Hosted STR cap
- 182 permits citywide
- New Non-Hosted applications
- Not accepted
- Cap direction
- Attrition-only, never increases
- Separation rule
- 1,000 feet between Non-Hosted STRs
- Hosted STRs
- No cap, unaffected by this rule
Summary
Santa Rosa has hard-capped Non-Hosted Short-Term Rental permits at 182 citywide, and the cap is closed: City Code Section 20-48.040(B)(2)(a) says no new Non-Hosted Short-Term Rental Permit applications will be accepted at all. The 182 ceiling only shrinks from here, dropping each time an existing Non-Hosted permit is vacated, revoked, or its property changes ownership.
The maximum number of Short-Term Rental Permits issued for Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals shall be 182 citywide. No new Non-Hosted Short-Term Rental Permit applications shall be accepted. The maximum number of Non-Hosted Short-Term Rental Permits citywide shall decrease through attrition when existing Non-Hosted Short-Term Rental Permits are vacated or revoked, or when properties are sold or transferred, with the exception of transfers allowed pursuant to Section 20-48.040(G)(1).
Full Breakdown
040(B)(2)(a) sets a hard numeric ceiling on one specific permit type: Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals, meaning rentals where the owner does not live and sleep on-site during the rental period, are capped at 182 permits citywide. The section does not leave room to grow that number: it says flatly that no new Non-Hosted Short-Term Rental Permit applications shall be accepted. 040(G) voids a Short-Term Rental Permit on sale except for the narrow spousal or domestic-partner transfer allowed in subsection (G)(1). 040(B)(2)(b) means even the 182 existing Non-Hosted permits cannot cluster: no new Non-Hosted rental may be proposed within 1,000 feet of another existing or proposed one, measured property line to property line.
040(B)(1)(a) allows Hosted permits citywide with no numerical limit and no separation requirement, because the owner's on-site presence is treated as the safeguard a numeric cap otherwise provides for Non-Hosted units.
Violations & Fines
Since the Non-Hosted queue is permanently closed, a property owner who advertises or operates a Non-Hosted Short-Term Rental without one of the existing 182 permits is operating without a valid Short-Term Rental Permit, an offense fined $1,500 for a first violation, $3,000 for a second, and $5,000 for a third or later violation within 12 months under the Table 48.1 penalty schedule in Section 20-48.080(B).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I still apply for a new non-hosted short-term rental permit in Santa Rosa?
Will Santa Rosa's 182-permit cap ever go back up?
Does the 182-permit cap apply to hosted short-term rentals too?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Santa Rosa
California rules heatmap·Compare Santa Rosa to another location·View the California short-term rentals overview
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Night Caps in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Sonoma County handle night caps.