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

Some cities allow short-term rentals only at an owner's primary residence to discourage investor-owned 'whole-house' STRs. Eastvale does not use this approach because it prohibits short-term rentals across the board; there is no carve-out for primary residences, and no STR ordinance in which a primary-residence condition could exist. The City's published position is that short-term rentals cannot be operated within city limits, full stop, which means an owner cannot short-term rent even the home they live in. We found no primary-residence STR provision in the Eastvale Municipal Code and will not fabricate one. The prohibition is rooted in zoning: residential districts under EMC Title 120 are limited to residential dwelling use, and EMC Section 120.06.010 defines a dwelling to exclude hotels, boardinghouses, and lodginghouses, so transient lodging is not a permitted residential use whether or not the owner occupies the property. By contrast, the City's long-term rental registration program (EMC Chapter 110.32) does apply to non-owner-occupied single-family rentals, but those are conventional tenancies of 30 days or more, not short-term rentals. The practical effect is that an Eastvale homeowner who wants to rent a room or the whole house for a weekend has no lawful path; the only permitted residential rental is a long-term tenancy.