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

Unlike some California jurisdictions that cap short-term rental occupancy at a fixed number such as two persons per bedroom plus two, Tuolumne County's adopted STR rules in Ordinance Code Chapter 8.70 do not appear to impose a numeric per-guest occupancy limit. Chapter 8.70 is structured as a Fire and Life Safety Inspection program: it requires each rental to have working smoke alarms in every bedroom and at least one per level, carbon monoxide alarms where fuel-fired appliances or fireplaces exist, fire extinguishers, address identification, defensible space, and a posted local-contact and evacuation plan. In practice, the safe occupancy of a particular short-term rental is therefore determined by the number of legal sleeping rooms and exits, the alarm coverage, the on-site septic system capacity for properties not on public sewer, and the occupant-load and egress provisions of the California Building Code and California Fire Code as adopted by the County. Operators in private communities such as Pine Mountain Lake may also face occupancy and conduct limits imposed by the homeowners association's CC&Rs and STR permit policy, which are private rules layered on top of the County program. Because the County program does not publish a single countywide guest-count formula, operators should size occupancy to the home's legal bedrooms, egress, and septic capacity and confirm any HOA limits.