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

Irvine's Zoning Ordinance treats short-term rentals as categorically incompatible with residential zoning rather than as a permitted use subject to conditions. Chapter 3-25, adopted by Ord. No. 18-05 in 2018 and amended by Ord. No. 21-01 in 2021, opens with § 3-25-1's statement of purpose: to 'establish that short-term rentals are prohibited uses on any property within the City's residential zones,' extending that prohibition to any other zoning district, including overlay zones and specific plans, where residential use is permitted or conditionally permitted. Section 3-25-2 defines a short-term rental as any rental or occupancy of a dwelling unit, or part of one, furnished to visitors for 30 consecutive days or less.

Section 3-25-3 then converts that policy into an enforceable rule: no 'responsible party', a term defined broadly to include owners, lessees, tenants, and their agents, may operate or allow the operation of a short-term rental in a residential zoning district, and no one may advertise a stay of under 31 consecutive days, including a listing quoting a nightly or weekly rate. Because the use is prohibited outright, there is no zoning clearance, conditional use permit, administrative permit or business license that legalizes a short-term rental in an Irvine residential zone; property owners looking for a lawful path have none inside city limits.

Section 3-25-4 backs the ban with a public-nuisance designation, letting the City summarily abate a violation under California Code of Civil Procedure § 731, and § 3-25-5 makes non-compliance an infraction or misdemeanor prosecutable in the name of the People of the State.