Ventura, CA Short-Term Rentals: Occupancy Limits (2026)
Key Facts
- STVR occupancy cap
- 2 persons + 2 per bedroom
- Homestay occupancy cap
- 2 persons per bedroom
- Excluded from count
- children under 3; daytime guests
- Governing section
- Municipal Code § 6.455.140(F)
- Enforcing office
- Permit Administrator (City Manager designee)
- Repeat violation penalty
- suspension up to 6 months or revocation
Summary
Ventura caps overnight occupancy at every permitted short-term vacation rental and homestay under Municipal Code § 6.455.140(F). A whole-unit vacation rental may sleep two people plus two more per bedroom, while a homestay, where the owner keeps living in the unit, is capped at two people per bedroom. Children under three do not count, and the cap must be posted inside the rental and stated in every ad.
F. For short-term vacation rentals, the owner shall limit overnight occupancy to a specific number of occupants, with the maximum number of overnight occupants being two persons plus two persons per bedroom available to occupants. For homestays, that number will be two persons per bedroom available to occupants. Children under three years of age are excluded from the occupancy count. Advertisements shall include the number of maximum occupants permitted.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 2026-008, passed May 12, 2026).
Full Breakdown
455 of the San Buenaventura Municipal Code sets the overnight occupancy formula for both permit types the city issues under its 2024 short-term rental ordinance (Ord. No. 2024-009, adopted December 10, 2024, amended by Ord. No. 2026-008 on May 12, 2026). 140(F), a short-term vacation rental, the whole-unit product, may host a maximum of two overnight occupants plus two more for every bedroom available to occupants; a homestay, where the owner stays in the unit nightly throughout the guest's stay, is limited instead to two occupants per bedroom, with no separate two-person base.
140(F) also excludes children under three years old from the tally. 130(C) requires every offer or advertisement for the rental to state the maximum occupants permitted. 020 as a room furnished with a bed, separated from other rooms by a door, with a window or emergency escape opening and a closet or storage nook, so a converted den or loft without those features does not add to the bedroom count used in the formula.
Violations & Fines
Exceeding the posted occupancy is a violation of Chapter 6.455 (§ 6.455.170), and the city issues a written notice of violation under § 6.455.180 specifying the defect and a correction deadline. Under § 6.455.190(A), two or more violations tied to the same unit within 12 months can suspend the permit up to six months, and three or more violations, or a repeat within six months of reinstatement, can revoke it outright.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people can stay overnight at a Ventura short-term vacation rental?
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Ventura
California rules heatmap·Compare Ventura to another location·View the California short-term rentals overview
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Occupancy Limits in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Ventura County handle occupancy limits.