San Clemente, CA Short-Term Rentals: Repeat Violator Strikes (2026)
Key Facts
- Strike threshold
- 3 violations of one STLU in 12 months
- Single-strike trigger
- One violation creating a serious safety threat
- Decision maker
- City-appointed Hearing Officer
- Appeal window
- 10 days to City Council (de novo)
- Re-application bar
- 24 months after revocation (§3.24.200)
Summary
San Clemente can revoke a short-term lodging unit's operating license after three conclusively established code violations tied to that unit within any 12-month period, or immediately after a single violation that seriously threatens public health or safety. A hearing officer decides the case and can impose added conditions instead of revoking, under Municipal Code § 3.24.067.
If an STLU owner or operator is conclusively found to have committed either (1) three violations of this code, including any violation of the STLU zoning permit conditions, for a particular STLU within any 12-month period, or (2) a single violation of this code that results in a serious threat to the public health, safety, or welfare, then a hearing will be held in accordance with Sections 3.24.050 and 3.24.060. At the hearing, the hearing officer may revoke the STLU operating license or impose additional conditions on the STLU operating license to mitigate the impact of the STLU on the community. For purposes of this Subsection 3.24.067.A, "conclusively found to have committed" a violation means to be issued a citation that the owner or operator fails to appeal or, if the operator or operator appeals a citation, a final City determination that is adverse to the owner or operator.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Traffic: Supplement 30 | Code of Ordinances: Supplement 66 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
A. 24 violations. The hearing officer can revoke the STLU operating license outright or instead impose additional conditions meant to mitigate the unit's impact on the neighborhood, stopping short of revocation. 145, Subsection H, the two proceedings are consolidated and heard together under that zoning-permit procedure instead of running separately. 067 within the previous 24 months, and cannot issue one to an owner who previously held a license or permit revoked under that section, regardless of the property. An owner or operator aggrieved by the hearing officer's decision has 10 days from service of the decision to file a notice of appeal with the City Clerk for a de novo review by the City Council, whose decision is final.
Violations & Fines
Revocation ends the right to rent the unit as an STLU until a new license is approved, and the 24-month lookback in § 3.24.200 blocks the same property, or the same owner on any property, from getting a fresh license during that window. Operating or advertising an STLU without a valid license after revocation is a misdemeanor under § 3.24.270.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many violations can an STLU get before losing its license?
Can the City do something short of revoking the license?
What if I disagree with the revocation?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in San Clemente
California rules heatmap·Compare San Clemente to another location·View the California short-term rentals overview
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