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

The City of Hesperia adopts the California Building Standards Code (Title 24) through HMC Title 15. CBC § 1208 (Interior Space Dimensions) and California Residential Code R304 require every habitable room to be at least 70 square feet and every sleeping room to provide a minimum of 70 sq ft for the first occupant and 50 sq ft for each additional occupant. There is no Hesperia-specific 'X persons per bedroom' overlay for short-term rentals, so the CBC math is the governing standard, supplemented by California Fire Code egress and smoke-alarm requirements. Hesperia's Development Code (HMC Title 16) controls land use and contains no separate STR maximum-occupancy provision; the planning department therefore relies on the underlying CBC habitability standard. The State of California regulates Accessory Dwelling Units under Cal. Gov't Code § 65852.2(a)(6), which expressly authorizes local agencies to prohibit short-term (less than 30-day) rentals of ADUs — meaning if a host plans to use an ADU as the STR, they should verify the current ADU ordinance in HMC Title 16 before listing. The Mojave Desert / High Desert wildfire context (Hesperia is in San Bernardino County WUI mapping) also makes the CRC R310 emergency egress window in each sleeping room a practical occupancy constraint: a 'bedroom' without a code-compliant egress window cannot be marketed as a sleeping space regardless of square footage.