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

Under San Jose Municipal Code Chapter 20.80, an Incidental Transient Occupancy use is a residential dwelling rented for fewer than 30 consecutive days. Operators must register the use with the city, obtain a Business Tax Certificate, and include the certificate number in every listing on Airbnb, Vrbo, and similar platforms. The city distinguishes between hosted rentals (operator present on-site) and unhosted rentals (operator absent). Unhosted rentals are capped at 180 nights per calendar year; hosted rentals have no night cap. A 10% Transient Occupancy Tax is due on all stays under 30 nights, collected directly from guests and remitted monthly or quarterly depending on volume. Hosts must designate a local contact reachable 24 hours per day, capable of responding to complaints within one hour. The property must be the operator's primary residence, defined as occupied by the operator for at least 60 days per year. Platforms operating under voluntary collection agreements with San Jose remit TOT on behalf of hosts but do not relieve the registration requirement. Code Enforcement actively cross-references listings against the registration database. Unpermitted operation carries administrative fines starting at $1,000 and rising to $5,000 for repeat violations, plus back-tax liability.