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

Hawthorne's short-term rental ordinance is organized around the idea that most hosts should be renting out the home they actually live in. Section 17.74.010 defines 'primary residence' as 'a host's primary residence or usual place of return for housing, documented as required by this chapter,' and specifies that 'a person may have only one primary residence and must reside there for a minimum of nine months per year.' To prove that status, § 17.74.020(A)(8) requires 'evidence of the homestead tax exemption for the property and two of the following: motor vehicle registration, voter registration, income tax documents showing the residential unit as the host's primary residence, bank account statement, or a utility or credit card bill.' The chapter does allow an exception: a 'secondary residence' owned by someone whose primary residence is in Hawthorne can be permitted as a 'vacation rental,' but only ten such permits are issued citywide per year, on a first-come, first-served basis, with no more than one per property owner (§ 17.74.010).

Vacation rentals are further capped at 90 days of use per calendar year and barred from industrial or commercial zones (§ 17.74.050). An applicant for a secondary-residence permit still has to prove their own primary residence is in Hawthorne, and both primary- and secondary-residence hosts must sign an affidavit confirming which category applies to their unit.