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

The Town of Truckee defines a short-term rental as a residential unit rented 30 nights or less. Anything advertised for 31 nights or more counts as a long-term rental, falls outside the Short-Term Rental Ordinance, and carries no Transient Occupancy Tax obligation. A property advertised for 30 nights or less is treated as a short-term rental and is a citable offense, so an owner who lists a house at 30 nights or fewer needs a registration certificate before the listing goes live.

The permit is the STR Transient Occupancy Registration Certificate. Both operating and advertising an unregistered STR draw penalties under Section 5.02.060 of the ordinance. Certificates are rationed. Town Council adopted Ordinance 2022-02 on April 12, 2022, capping the number of certificates at 1,255 town wide, and the cap produced a waitlist of applicants. A would-be operator first completes the online Waitlist Application Sign-Up Sheet, which timestamps the request and holds a place in line. STR Division staff then research the property for viability and send an email with instructions for completing the formal waitlist application.

Two categories sit outside the standard certificate path. Hotels and motels, meaning facilities with six or more guest rooms or suites and 24-hour onsite management, are exempt from the STR Ordinance and the annual registration fee, but they apply for a one-time Hotel Transient Occupancy Registration Certificate, follow Chapter 3.24 of the Municipal Code, and remit quarterly Transient Occupancy Tax. Hosted rentals, formerly called Bed & Breakfasts, cover one permitted bedroom in a dwelling the homeowner occupies as a primary residence, rented for at least one night and no more than thirty consecutive days. Hosted rentals follow their own rules in the ordinance, remit quarterly TOT, and renew every three years, with registrations expiring on the third March 31 after initial registration.

Registration also carries a fire safety condition. The Truckee Fire Protection District (TFPD) must complete an inspection within three years of initial registration approval, then once every three years from the last passed inspection. The due date appears in the operator's STR Portal under the account Status section. Since January 1, 2026 the inspection fee is paid directly to TFPD when the inspection is scheduled, instead of being folded into the registration renewal fee.