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

55 governs every short-term residential rental in the city, any legally permitted dwelling unit rented for 30 consecutive calendar days or less. 050 lists the operational requirements that must be built into each short-term residential rental permit, and subsection (N) sets the hard occupancy ceiling: two people per bedroom plus one person per unit. A three-bedroom rental therefore tops out at seven occupants regardless of how many beds, sofas or listing photos suggest otherwise. The cap sits alongside the chapter's other operational rules from the same section: at least one designated local contact must be reachable 24 hours a day and able to reach the property within 30 minutes of a complaint (subsection D), that contact's name and phone number must be posted on the exterior of the unit in at least 14-point or quarter-inch type (subsection E), and on-site parking is limited to approved driveway, garage or carport space (subsection M).

The Community & Economic Development Director or a designee may also impose additional conditions on a specific unit under subsection (O) if secondary effects need further mitigation, which can mean a lower occupancy figure for a particular property than the citywide default. 700, and the owner or authorized agent must respond to a violation complaint within 30 minutes of notification. 050.