Orange County, CA Short-Term Rentals: Repeat Violator Strikes (2026)

Section 7-9-93(e)(3) reads: "Property owner shall maintain good standing by complying with all County regulations or the permit shall be revoked, and any future permit applications for the property may be negatively impacted. Two (2) violations related to the Ordinance shall discontinue short-term rental operations for up to one (1) year." The provision is written broadly, "the Ordinance" covers the full set of Short-term Rental Permit conditions in subsection (e), including quiet hours under (e)(11), the parking and occupancy caps under (e)(8) through (e)(10), the ban on advertising signage under (e)(1), and the prohibition on renting out an accessory dwelling unit under (e)(6). A violation of any one of those conditions counts toward the two-strike total, not just noise or parking complaints specifically.

The consequence is distinct from a routine permit denial. Ordinary noncompliance can already cost a property owner its permit outright under the first sentence of (e)(3), but the second sentence adds a mandatory minimum shutdown once two violations accumulate: up to a full year with no short-term rental use of that dwelling at all, regardless of ownership. Subsection (e)(4) compounds this by terminating the permit automatically on any change in ownership, so a buyer cannot inherit a rental that is mid-suspension and resume operating it without going through the permit process again. The two-strike rule applies only to permits issued under Section 7-9-93, which governs short-term rentals in the unincorporated area; incorporated cities elsewhere in the county set their own repeat-violation consequences under their own municipal codes.