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

There is no short-term-rental occupancy limit written into a dedicated County STR ordinance, because unincorporated Santa Clara County has not adopted one. The County Zoning Ordinance defines a 'dwelling unit' as a building or portion thereof designed, intended, or used for dwelling purposes for one family, and defines 'family' as one or more persons occupying a premises and living as a single household. These general residential definitions, together with building- and housing-code occupancy standards (which limit occupancy based on the floor area and number of bedrooms of a dwelling), are what effectively constrain how many guests a short-term rental can hold, rather than a number set specifically for STRs. The closest zoning use category that carries its own conditions, 'Bed and Breakfast Inns,' is tied to winery or agricultural operations and approved through a use or special permit that can impose case-by-case conditions; an ordinary residential short-term rental is not regulated under that category. Hosts should therefore size their occupancy to the lawful capacity of the dwelling under the building and housing codes and to any conditions on their parcel's zoning approval, and should confirm specifics with the County Department of Planning and Development. Note that several incorporated cities in the county do impose explicit per-rental occupancy caps; those city rules do not apply to unincorporated parcels.