Tulare County, CA Short-Term Rentals: Permit Requirements (2026)

There is no dedicated short-term rental (STR) permit or use-permit program in the Tulare County Ordinance Code for unincorporated areas such as Three Rivers, Camp Nelson, Sequoia Crest, and Ponderosa. A proposed countywide STR ordinance that would have added permits, occupancy limits, parking rules, noise rules, trash and pet rules, and contact-information signage was brought to a public hearing on July 9, 2024 and rejected by the Board of Supervisors on a 3-2 vote (Supervisors Vander Poel, Townsend, and Micari voting to reject; Valero and Shuklian voting to proceed). With no STR ordinance adopted, hosts are governed only by the Transient Occupancy Tax Law (Tulare County Code Part I, Chapter 5, Article 11) and by general zoning and nuisance rules. The one mandatory registration is with the Treasurer-Tax Collector: every operator of a hotel or short-term residential rental must register and obtain a Transient Occupancy Registration Certificate (section 1-05-1380). That certificate expressly 'does not constitute a permit' and 'does not authorize any person to operate a short-term residential rental without strictly complying with all locally applicable laws.' Operators should confirm zoning for their parcel with the Resource Management Agency before listing.