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

Colusa County is a rural, rice-farming Sacramento Valley county with no dedicated vacation-rental or homestay ordinance. Short-term rentals are addressed indirectly through the Colusa County Zoning Code (Title 44). The Zoning Code defines a 'recreational lodging facility' as an establishment 'primarily engaged in the provision of commercial lodging to the general public on a short-term or transient basis (30 days or less),' and Article 44-4.100 sets standards for recreational lodging facilities in non-commercial zones, covering agricultural visitor lodging, farmstays, duck/hunting and fishing clubs, and bed-and-breakfast inns. A farmstay (44-4.100.020) and a bed-and-breakfast inn (44-4.100.040) are the two owner-occupied paths most relevant to a host renting rooms in a home. Under 44-4.100.010(G), 'a Use Permit shall be required when a proposed use exceeds the general standards in this section,' and a use not expressly listed as allowed-by-right in the applicable zone needs a discretionary permit from the Department of Planning and Building. A stand-alone, non-owner-occupied whole-house rental is not expressly authorized by these provisions, so the County would direct such an operator to the Use Permit pathway. Permit applications are filed through the County's online permit portal. Because there is no STR-specific code section, anyone planning a rental should confirm the exact requirements for their parcel's zoning with Planning and Building before listing.