Mendocino County, CA Short-Term Rentals: Occupancy Limits (2026)

Unlike some California counties, Mendocino County's adopted code does not impose an explicit 'two persons per bedroom plus two' style occupancy formula for short-term rentals. In the Town of Mendocino, Chapter 20.748 limits vacation home rentals to properties where the rental is the only use except an existing single-family dwelling, and ties single unit rentals to an existing residential or commercial use on the same site, so occupancy is effectively bounded by the legal capacity of that dwelling under building and health codes. In the unincorporated Coastal Zone (Division II), vacation home rentals are tied to a single legal dwelling and are prohibited on properties with an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) or junior ADU, and ADUs/JADUs may not be used for transient habitation at all, which constrains how many units on a parcel can be rented. The County also enforces the General Plan noise standards (see noise rules) as a practical limit on large gatherings. For the inland (Division I) areas, the Board of Supervisors in February 2026 had not adopted specific occupancy caps; the draft direction emphasized a Good Neighbor Policy and three-strike enforcement rather than numeric occupancy limits. Operators should confirm the lawful occupancy of the dwelling with Planning and Building Services and Environmental Health.