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

Monterey's short-term rental scheme, codified at § 38-26(O), is built around a hard 1991 cutoff rather than a licensing system: subsection (O)(1) prohibits any short-term residential rental established after August 6, 1991, in all residential districts, including residential development inside Planned Community zones. Subsection (O)(2) lets rentals that predate that cutoff keep operating only if the owner registers with the City's Finance Department, with proof of prior existence, within 60 days of the section's effective date; failure to register in time strips the grandfathered status entirely.

for as long as the rental operates, and every grandfathered rental must stop for good after five years from the section's effective date or when title to the property transfers, whichever happens first. Layered on top of that sunset is the forfeiture rule at (O)(2)(d): a single violation of Chapter 38, or a finding that the rental constitutes a nuisance, forfeits the right to continue operating outright, with no graduated warnings. The City pursues that forfeiture through the discretionary-permit revocation procedure at § 38-221: the Community Development Director sets a hearing on reasonable grounds, notice issues as for a public hearing, the hearing body can revoke on findings of erroneous information, violation of law, or six months of discontinued use, and a revocation becomes final 10 days after the decision, appealable under Article 27.