Burbank, CA Short-Term Rentals: Registration Rules (2026)

Unlike Los Angeles, Glendale, Pasadena, and Santa Monica — all of which have established licensing or registration frameworks for short-term rentals — the City of Burbank has no such program. Because short-term rentals are prohibited by omission from the residential zoning code's list of permitted uses, there is no legal basis for residents to register or obtain a license to operate one. The question of registration is therefore moot: the activity is prohibited, so no registration pathway exists.

Burbank's Community Development Department has stated that code enforcement staff use internet-based monitoring to identify residential properties listed on platforms like Airbnb and VRBO. When a Burbank residential property is discovered operating as a short-term rental, the property owner receives a formal notice of violation and is given a compliance period — typically 30 days — to remove the listing and cease rental operations. There is no option to "register" and continue. The only entities that may legally collect payment for short-term lodging in Burbank are licensed hotels, motels, and bed-and-breakfast establishments operating in appropriately zoned commercial areas, all of which must maintain an account with the city for the 12% Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT). Residential landlords who rent for 30 or more consecutive days are not subject to TOT.