Simi Valley, CA Short-Term Rentals: Permit Requirements (2026)

At its November 18, 2024 meeting, City staff confirmed in a public memorandum (STRccmtg11-18-24) that 'the City does not define a STR, nor regulate short-term rentals,' and that over the prior 10 years the City had received only a few complaints involving STRs. After a year-plus of public hearings, a Planning Commission ban recommendation on March 4, 2026 (Commission voted 4-0), and a December 15, 2025 study session, the City Council on May 11, 2026 unanimously approved the first reading of an STR regulatory ordinance rather than a ban, making Simi Valley the fourth city in Ventura County (after Ventura, Oxnard, and Port Hueneme) to permit and tax STRs. The ordinance requires an annual STR permit and annual inspection, prohibits operation in apartments, non-habitable structures, garages, accessory structures, and temporary structures, and limits eligible accessory dwelling units to those of at least 800 square feet. Each owner or legal entity is limited to one STR permit total regardless of how many properties they control. Properties with open code-enforcement violations are disqualified. The City projects approximately $741 in annual permit fees per operator and roughly $163,000 in net annual program revenue. The ordinance takes effect January 1, 2027, with the second reading scheduled for June 8, 2026.