Short-term rental permit rules in Santa Cruz, CA — also called Airbnb permits, vacation rental licenses, or STR registration — list the application steps, fees, and operating requirements for hosting.
Every short-term rental in the City of Santa Cruz must hold a short-term rental permit and a Transient Occupancy Tax certificate. New permits are limited to owner-occupied 'hosted' rentals, with a citywide cap of 250 hosted permits; no new non-hosted (non-owner-occupied) permits are issued.
Under Santa Cruz Municipal Code Chapter 24.12, Part 18 (added by Ordinance 2017-18), no dwelling may be offered for transient occupancy of 30 days or less without a short-term rental permit issued by the Director of Planning and Community Development (SCMC 24.12.1715). Permits are revocable and nontransferable, and the application must include proof of compliance with the Transient Occupancy Tax provisions of Chapter 3.28, a plot/floor plan, and a photograph of the unit. A 'hosted short-term rental' is one where an owner occupies the dwelling as a principal residence (SCMC 24.12.1705). The City allows up to a maximum of 250 hosted short-term rentals citywide on a first-come, first-served basis, and no new non-hosted short-term rentals are permitted (SCMC 24.12.1750). Properties with an accessory dwelling unit are generally ineligible for an STR permit.
Operating without a permit is an enforceable violation: the first two violations in a one-year period are infractions punishable by a fine; a third within one year is a misdemeanor (SCMC 24.12.1790).
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