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

Under Woodland Municipal Code Section 17.84.330(D), a short-term rental may use no more than three bedrooms for paying guests, and the total number of guests present at any one time cannot exceed the number of those bedrooms plus two, with an absolute ceiling of five guests regardless of house size (Section 17.84.330(D)(4)). The use is restricted to single-family dwellings that already existed and were constructed as of the date the short-term rental permit application was filed (D)(3), and only one unit per lot may operate as a short-term rental, except in multifamily developments of 15 or more units, where up to 10% of the units may be used this way (D)(1).

Every short-term rental needs a Zoning Administrator Permit issued in the owner-applicant's own name, and the dwelling must pass a Fire Department inspection covering building, health, fire and related safety codes before any rental activity can begin (D)(5). Because the guest count is tied directly to the number of bedrooms rented rather than the house's total bedroom count, a five-bedroom home that rents out only two bedrooms for short-term guests is capped at four occupants under the formula, not seven. Community Development and the Zoning Administrator administer the permit; Yolo County Animal Services and the Police Department are not part of this occupancy scheme, which is a zoning standard rather than a nuisance ordinance.