Tulare Municipal Code does not impose a primary-residence requirement on short-term rental operators. Because the city has no STR-specific ordinance, non-owner-occupied (whole-home, investor-owned) STRs are not categorically banned. The rejected Tulare County draft STR ordinance would have allowed both hosted and unhosted rentals so long as the dwelling was a 'permitted dwelling' with 'habitable interior spaces' — but that countywide ordinance was voted down 3-2 in 2024 and never took effect. California has no statewide primary-residence rule for STRs.
Many California cities (e.g., San Francisco, Santa Monica, Los Angeles) cap unhosted STRs at 90 nights/year or require the operator's primary residence. Tulare has not adopted any such restriction. Title 10 of the Tulare Municipal Code governs zoning land uses but does not classify STRs as a separately regulated use, meaning a residential dwelling rented short-term is treated like any other lawful use of a single-family or multi-family dwelling, subject only to the underlying base zone standards (setbacks, parking, occupancy limits set by the California Building Code). The draft Tulare County STR ordinance would have required that 'only habitable interior spaces in permitted dwellings' be rented — explicitly excluding garages, tents, treehouses, yurts, camper trailers, and RVs — but the Board rejected it. California state law (SB 9, SB 10, Gov. Code 65852.2) preempts certain housing rules but does not impose a primary-residence requirement on STRs.
Because no primary-residence rule exists, there is no violation for renting a non-owner-occupied dwelling. Hosts must still hold a city business license and meet zoning, building, and fire-code requirements.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Tulare, CA
Tulare permits artificial turf in residential yards. There is no Tulare Municipal Code prohibition on synthetic grass, and California Civil Code § 4735 (as a...
Tulare, CA
Tulare Municipal Code Chapter 10.196 (Landscaping) implements California's Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO, 23 CCR § 490 et seq.) for new an...
Tulare, CA
Tulare has no local prohibition on residential rainwater harvesting. California broadly authorizes capture under the Rainwater Capture Act of 2012 (Water Cod...
Tulare, CA
Tulare treats weeds as a fire hazard and public nuisance under TMC § 7.28.030. The city issues abatement notices through Code Enforcement; unaddressed parcel...
Tulare, CA
Tulare Municipal Code Chapter 8.36 (City Park and Trail Ordinance) governs conduct in city parks but does NOT contain an express prohibition on operating, la...
Tulare, CA
Tulare imposes no city-issued commercial UAS permit. Commercial drone operations (real estate photography, agricultural surveying, infrastructure inspection,...
See how Tulare's primary-residence-only rule rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.