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

Because Tustin prohibits short-term rentals, there is no host registry, no annual STR renewal, and no STR business-license category. This differs sharply from cities like San Leandro, where hosted-STR permits expire each December 31 and must be renewed. In Tustin, no such record exists. The only registration the City maintains for transient lodging is the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) system administered by the Finance Department, which applies to lawful hotel and motel operators. Hotel and motel operators in Tustin are required to collect the TOT and file Uniform Transient Occupancy Tax Returns; payments are due at the end of the month following the quarterly reporting period. A 'transient' is a guest occupying a hotel or motel for any 30 consecutive calendar days or less. The City also provides a Certificate of Tax Exemption form for qualifying exempt occupants. None of this creates a route to register a residential dwelling as a short-term rental. A property owner cannot convert a house into a registered STR simply by collecting TOT, because the underlying sub-30-day residential use remains a prohibited hotel/motel use in residential districts. Owners wanting lawful transient-lodging revenue must operate a hotel or motel in an appropriately zoned location and register for TOT through Tustin Finance.