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

Santa Cruz County's vacation rental ordinance sets a clear occupancy formula. SCCC 13.10.694 requires the form rental or lease agreement and house rules to state the number of guests allowed, which shall not exceed two per legal bedroom plus two additional guests; children under eight years old are not counted toward this limit. So a three-bedroom permitted vacation rental allows up to eight overnight guests (six plus two), excluding young children. For celebrations and gatherings held between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., the maximum number of people allowed is twice the maximum number of overnight guests, meaning daytime headcount can double but must wind down by the 10:00 p.m. quiet-hour threshold. The number of bedrooms is the permitted, legal bedroom count, and the permit category turns on it: rentals of three or fewer bedrooms are processed administratively, while four-or-more-bedroom rentals require a Level V public hearing and a one-year provisional permit before the full five-year term. Mis-advertising the capacity or limitations of the vacation rental is listed in the ordinance as a significant violation that can lead to revocation, so the advertised and posted occupancy must match the permit. Hosted Rentals under SCCC 13.10.690, where the owner occupies one bedroom and rents one to three others, are inherently smaller in scale.