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

San Benito County does not require that a short-term rental be the operator's primary residence, because the unincorporated county has no standalone STR ordinance that could impose such a limit. Some California jurisdictions restrict STRs to owner-occupied or primary-residence properties to curb investor conversions; San Benito County has not adopted that kind of STR-specific rule. Instead, whether a dwelling may be rented to transients - whether owner-occupied or not - depends on the allowed-use rules of the County Zoning Code (Title 25) for the parcel's zoning district, together with the transient occupancy tax registration requirement. Because the County publishes no primary-residence or owner-occupancy mandate for STRs, this site does not assert one; doing so would misstate county law. Investor-owned and second-home vacation rentals are therefore not categorically prohibited by an owner-occupancy rule, but they still must fit the zoning district's permitted uses and may require zoning clearance or a use permit depending on the district. Operators of non-owner-occupied rentals should be especially careful to confirm that transient lodging is an allowed use on their parcel with the Resource Management Agency, since the absence of an STR ordinance means the general zoning rules are the controlling authority. The County's ongoing zoning code update could change how lodging uses are treated.