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

Article XXI of Chapter 8, added by urgency ordinance NS-3060 on April 2, 2024 and confirmed by NS-3061 on April 16, 2024 (amended by NS-3072 on December 3, 2024), defines two categories in Section 8-3400: a 'home-sharing rental' is a stay of less than 30 consecutive days where an owner lives on-site throughout the visit, and a 'short-term or vacation rental' is the same length of stay without the owner concurrently occupying the unit. Section 8-3401 then prohibits both outright, it is unlawful to offer or make available for rent, or to rent, for compensation a home-sharing rental or short-term/vacation rental for less than thirty (30) days, by any rental agreement, lease, sublease, license, listing website, or oral arrangement, and it is separately unlawful to maintain any advertisement of either use.

Because the use itself is banned, the city built no companion registration, licensing, or transient occupancy tax collection framework into Article XXI, there is nothing to apply for. Section 8-3402 makes any violation a public nuisance and a misdemeanor punishable under Chapter 1, Section 1-8, though the City Attorney has discretion to charge it as an infraction instead. The city may also issue an administrative citation under Section 1-21 in place of, or in addition to, criminal prosecution, and a court hearing a civil enforcement action may award attorney's fees and costs to the prevailing party.