Fountain Valley, CA Short-Term Rentals: Repeat Violator Strikes (2026)
Key Facts
- First violation
- Fine up to $1,500
- Second violation within one year
- Fine up to $3,000
- Each additional violation within one year
- Fine up to $5,000
- Continuing violations
- Each day is a separate offense
- Hardship waiver request deadline
- Thirty days after the fine is imposed
- Time to pay or request hearing
- Fifteen calendar days from service
- Underlying rule
- Short-term rentals prohibited under Chapter 4.95
Summary
In the City of Fountain Valley, California, short-term rentals are banned outright, and repeat offenders face escalating administrative fines: up to $1,500 for a first violation, $3,000 for a second within one year, and $5,000 for each additional violation within one year of the first. Each day of violation counts as a separate offense.
§ 1.13.070. Administrative fine. ... (d) Notwithstanding any other law, including subsections (b) and (c), an administrative citation for the violation of a short-term rental ordinance is punishable by the following: (1) A fine not exceeding one thousand five hundred dollars for a first violation. (2) A fine not exceeding three thousand dollars for a second violation of the same ordinance within one year. (3) A fine not exceeding five thousand dollars for each additional violation of the same ordinance within one year of the first violation. ... (f) Continuing Violation. Each and every day during any portion of which any violation is committed, continued, maintained or permitted shall constitute a separate offense.
Full Breakdown
Fountain Valley does not run a formal points or strike system. Instead, Municipal Code § 1.13.070(d) counts violations of the same short-term rental ordinance inside a rolling one-year window and raises the maximum fine at each step. The underlying rule sits in Chapter 4.95: no owner, person, firm, corporation or hosting platform may offer, operate or advertise a short-term rental (a dwelling rented for thirty consecutive days or less) in the City of Fountain Valley.
The ladder works like this. A first violation carries a fine not exceeding $1,500. A second violation of the same ordinance within one year carries up to $3,000. Every additional violation within one year of the first violation carries up to $5,000. These caps apply notwithstanding the lower general tiers of $100, $200 and $500 in subsection (b) and the building-code tiers in subsection (c). Under subsection (f), each day during any part of which a violation is committed, continued, maintained or permitted is a separate offense, so a listing that stays live for a week can be cited repeatedly.
The fines from the second step up are open to a hardship waiver under subsection (e). The responsible party must show the city manager, within thirty days after the fine is imposed, that it made a bona fide effort to comply after the first violation and that paying the full amount would impose an undue financial burden.
Process matters too. The responsible party has fifteen calendar days from service of the citation to pay or to ask the city clerk in writing for a hearing, with an advance deposit of the fine. The city manager, or an appointee, serves as hearing officer, and the written order is final at the city level. Judicial review goes to the Orange County Superior Court, West Justice Center, by appeal within twenty calendar days or by writ petition within ninety calendar days.
The same three-tier schedule is repeated for short-term rental violations prosecuted as infractions in the general penalty section, § 1.16.010, where the hardship showing is made to the court instead of the city manager.
Violations & Fines
Failing to pay the fine or request a hearing within fifteen calendar days, or ignoring the administrative order, is an event under § 1.13.100 that lets the city raise the fine up to the § 1.13.070 caps, treat it as an account receivable, and treat the violation as a misdemeanor and a public nuisance. Paying a fine does not excuse correcting the violation, and the city can refuse permits or licenses to anyone with unpaid fines. Infraction prosecutions add a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Fountain Valley use a three-strikes system for short-term rentals?
Can the fine be reduced in the City of Fountain Valley?
How do I contest a short-term rental citation?
Are hosting platforms like Airbnb also covered?
Can I appeal the final order to court?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Fountain Valley
California rules heatmap·Compare Fountain Valley to another location·View the California short-term rentals overview
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