Santa Monica has one of the strictest short-term rental laws in the nation. Chapter 6.20 (adopted May 2015) prohibits vacation rentals and allows only hosted home-sharing with mandatory registration, a business license, and TOT collection. Only primary residents may home-share while living on-site.
Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 6.20 (Home-Sharing and Vacation Rentals), adopted May 12, 2015, continues the City's longstanding prohibition against vacation rentals while creating a regulated home-sharing framework. Home-sharing is defined as the rental of 30 consecutive days or less of one or more bedrooms in a dwelling that is the primary residence of the host, while the host lives on-site throughout the visitor's stay. Vacation rentals — the rental of an entire home for exclusive transient use — remain strictly prohibited. To home-share legally, hosts must: (1) obtain a Home-Share Business License from the Finance Department, (2) register with the City, (3) collect and remit Transient Occupancy Tax, (4) maintain the property as their primary residence, and (5) remain on-site during all guest stays. Under a 2019 settlement with Airbnb, all Santa Monica listings must be registered home-share properties, and Airbnb pays the City $2 per night booked. Within two years of the ordinance, Airbnb listings in Santa Monica dropped approximately 60%.
Operating an unregistered home-share or a vacation rental is subject to fines of up to $500 per day per violation. The City actively investigates and prosecutes violations. A 2019 case resulted in a $2.5 million penalty for a major vacation rental operator.
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