Mountain View, CA Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)

11 of the Mountain View City Code folds short-term rentals into the same Transient Occupancy Tax regime that applies to hotels and motels. The section states plainly that TOT 'shall be collected for short-term rentals and paid to the City of Mountain View, pursuant to Chapter 33 of the Mountain View City Code,' and that 'collection is the responsibility of the host,' not the guest or the platform, unless the city has separately signed a voluntary collection agreement with the specific hosting platform used for the booking.

Where such an agreement exists, the platform may remit TOT directly to the city on the host's behalf; otherwise the obligation sits with the individual host. The section fixes a hard start date: short-term rentals owed TOT as of January 1, 2019, meaning any booking after that date is taxable regardless of when the host's registration was approved. TOT compliance is not siloed from the rest of Chapter 44's registration scheme. 8 requires proof of TOT remittance before a host's annual short-term rental registration can be renewed, and hosts must submit whatever documentation the tax collector needs to verify the amount paid.

13 separately requires hosts to keep records demonstrating TOT compliance, including records showing a platform paid TOT on the host's behalf, for three years after each rental period, and to produce those records to the city on request for inspection or audit. 6 separately blocks registration renewal for any property under an active citation or compliance order.