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

San Bernardino County's Chapter 84.28 does not impose a general primary-residence or owner-occupancy requirement on short-term rentals in the unincorporated Mountain and Desert Regions. A whole single-family dwelling may be operated as a non-owner-occupied short-term rental, which is why the County's vacation-rental market in areas like Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead, Crestline, Joshua Tree, and Lucerne Valley is largely investor- and second-home-driven. The one owner-occupancy nuance is in Section 84.28.040(a): when an accessory dwelling unit, primary dwelling, guesthouse, casita, or other residential accessory structure is permitted as a short-term rental, at least one of the dwelling units on the parcel (the primary dwelling, ADU, or caretaker dwelling) must be occupied by the property owner or legal agent. Critically, that owner-occupancy requirement does not apply to a parcel of two acres or greater. So the only situation resembling a primary-residence rule is the multi-unit accessory-structure case on smaller parcels; a standalone single-family STR does not have to be the host's home. A maximum of two legal dwelling units per parcel may be approved for separate STR permits. This is more permissive than many California cities (such as Los Angeles or Santa Monica) that restrict STRs to a host's primary residence; San Bernardino County imposes no such citywide-style cap.