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

The City of Pismo Beach caps overnight guests in a licensed short-term rental or homestay at two people per bedroom plus two additional people, and the count is inclusive of children. The code prints this standard twice, once in each zoning code under Title 17, in identical words. In the 1983 Zoning Ordinance it is § 17.113.070(C), and in the 1998 Zoning Code it is § 17.09.070(C), so this page reports both rules side by side. The printed example is a two-bedroom STR, which can have up to and including six occupants overnight. Bedroom count is confirmed by city inspection before the license issues. Section 5.22.010 defines a bedroom as a room primarily used for sleeping, no less than seventy (70) square feet in size, with a minimum horizontal dimension of no less than seven (7) feet on any side, and a bedroom offered for rent must meet the applicable California Building Code requirements.

Subsection D of each section limits visitors. The number of visitors cannot exceed a number equal to the allowable occupancy at any time, so a rental with a maximum overnight occupancy of 6 can have no more than six additional visitors, and visitors are not allowed in the rental between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. and cannot stay overnight. Section 5.22.120 D requires a notice posted inside each STR or homestay showing the responsible party, the maximum number of occupants permitted to stay overnight, the maximum number of vehicles allowed on-site, garbage collection days and the non-emergency number of the city police department. Section 5.22.120 E requires advertising to show the license number and the approved number of bedrooms and required on-site parking spaces. In the 1983 Zoning Ordinance, § 17.113.070 F ties parking to bedrooms: one space for one bedroom, two for two bedrooms, three for three to four bedrooms, and four for five or more.

Pismo Beach uses two adopted zoning codes. The city's Zoning and Land Use page states that properties inside the Coastal Zone are regulated by the 1983 Zoning Code, and properties outside the Coastal Zone are regulated by the 1998 Zoning Code.