Amador County, CA Short-Term Rentals: Primary-Residence-Only Rule (2026)

Unincorporated Amador County has not adopted a dedicated short-term-rental ordinance, so there is no blanket countywide rule requiring every vacation rental to be the host's primary residence. However, the zoning use-permit pathways under Code Chapter 19.48 contain an effective owner-occupancy requirement for at least one approval route. Where an applicant uses the detached-room-unit option - detached room units used as short-term lodging, with a maximum of five units up to 350 square feet each per parcel under a conditional use permit - the chapter requires that the owner or manager occupy the property in a primary or accessory dwelling unit. In other words, that pathway is structured as an owner- or manager-occupied operation rather than a fully absentee rental. The bed-and-breakfast pathway is likewise built around an existing dwelling occupied by the operator, and the Planning Commission can write occupancy expectations into the permit conditions. This contrasts with a pure whole-home, non-owner-occupied model: the County's zoning approach for these uses ties the rental to a resident owner or manager. Because the rules derive from discretionary use permits rather than a single STR ordinance, the precise residency expectation depends on which pathway is used and the conditions imposed. Operators planning an absentee whole-home rental should confirm directly with Amador County Planning whether and how it can be permitted, since the codified detached-room-unit route assumes on-site owner or manager occupancy.