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

" "Short-term" means a rental of less than 30 consecutive calendar days, including home-sharing arrangements where the owner stays on site (Section 18-701). Only units zoned residential under Chapter 90 qualify for a permit at all (Section 18-702); an accessory dwelling unit does not count as an eligible lodging unit. The permit issues only to the property owner, though Section 18-704 lets an owner hire an agent to handle the application, renewal, or day-to-day compliance, while the owner remains legally responsible for the agent's failures.

Applications go to the administrative services director (Section 18-705); a renewal must be filed within 30 calendar days of expiration or the permit is deemed abandoned, and the same 30-day clock applies to reinstating a permit the city closed or a suspended permit once the suspension ends. Section 18-706 limits when the city can turn down a timely, otherwise-eligible application: only if the owner lacks a current business license, owes unpaid transient occupancy tax, penalties, fines, or inspection costs, or has had a permit for the same unit revoked.

Operating without the permit is a straight violation of Chapter 18: Section 18-713 makes it unlawful for any person to violate any provision of the short-term lodging chapter, triggering an administrative citation under Chapter 1, Article II, separate from whatever criminal exposure applies. A pattern of unpermitted renting can also block the owner from ever getting a permit for that unit under the suspension and revocation rules in Section 18-714.