Fountain Valley, CA Short-Term Rentals: Short-Term Rental Permits (2026)

Chapter 4.95 of the Fountain Valley Municipal Code, adopted as Ordinance 1591 in 2022, does not create a short-term rental permit. Its first stated purpose in § 4.95.010 is to prohibit short-term rentals in the city, and the same section says short-term rentals have never been listed as a permitted use under the city's zoning regulations, so the chapter is declaratory of existing law. A property owner in the City of Fountain Valley therefore cannot cure a violation by applying for approval, because the activity is barred.

Section 4.95.020 defines a short-term rental as a residential dwelling, or any portion of one, rented to a person or persons for 30 consecutive days or less. Hosted rentals (owner present and living in the unit) and unhosted rentals (owner residing off-site during the stay) both count. The definition of residential dwelling excludes commercially operated hotels, motels, bed and breakfast inns and time-share properties.

Section 4.95.030 stacks three separate prohibitions on owners, persons, firms, corporations and hosting platforms: offering or making a rental available, operating one, and advertising one. Renting a single room for 30 days or less is covered along with a whole house, because the definition reaches any portion of a dwelling. Stays longer than 30 consecutive days fall outside the definition. Two other stated purposes are ensuring the collection and payment of transient occupancy taxes and preserving the residential character of neighborhoods. Under § 4.95.040 an unlawful short-term rental is also a public nuisance.