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

050, enacted by Ordinance No. 41; once a license expires, is revoked, or is suspended, the rental must stop immediately. Only the property owner may hold the license, one per owner, though anyone legally operating more than one STR as of January 1, 2024 could keep a license for each unit for an initial two-year period before consolidating to a single renewable license. Every initial license expires automatically two years after issuance and can be renewed for another two years unless a change of property ownership terminates it first.

The Community Development Agency runs a ministerial licensing process and could not accept applications until it published administrative procedures; applications for STRs already operating legally as of January 1, 2024 got priority before July 1, 2025, with everyone else placed on a waiting list. A complete application must include the owner's contact information, a local contact or host name, the parcel number, unit type (hosted or unhosted), a site plan showing parking, proof of water and septic compliance where applicable, waste-hauler billing records, and self-certified building, fire-life-safety, and defensible-space inspections completed within the prior twelve months.

The county must notify every property within 300 feet of the STR in writing within five days of issuing a license. License fees are set by Board of Supervisors resolution after a public hearing and are non-refundable. 070's Table 1.