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

Unlike many California coastal and resort counties, Kings County has not adopted a short-term rental ordinance, so there is no county rule that caps the number of overnight guests, bedrooms used, or persons per STR for unincorporated areas. The County's Transient Occupancy Tax ordinance (Chapter 22, Article III) is purely a tax measure and contains no occupancy-limit standard. In the absence of an STR-specific cap, the practical limits on how many people may occupy a rental come from generally applicable rules: building and housing code occupancy standards based on the dwelling's habitable floor area and number of bedrooms; septic/on-site wastewater system capacity for rural parcels not on public sewer; and any conditions attached if a particular use required a zoning permit through the Community Development Agency under the Development Code. Because there is no fixed numeric STR occupancy limit in the county code, operators should not rely on a published STR maximum; instead they should confirm the lawful occupancy of the specific dwelling with Community Development and, for septic-served properties, the Environmental Health Services division. Requirements can change, so verify current standards before advertising a guest count.