City Watch
Short-term rental rules in Del Mar, CA
How Del Mar regulates short-term rentals: the rules that apply, their sources, and pending changes.
Rules here limit which homes may operate as short-term rentals, how many, where, or for how many nights a year.
- Home-share only: at least one primary resident must live on-site and be present throughout every guest stay of 30 days or fewer (SMMC Ch. 6.20) — a hard SUPPLY constraint
- Whole-home / non-hosted 'vacation rentals' are banned everywhere in the city
- Primary-residence requirement (host's own home only) plus mandatory home-sharing license/permit and TOT collection
- Ordinance survived federal challenge and is durably in force (HomeAway.com/Airbnb v. City of Santa Monica, 918 F.3d 676, 9th Cir. 2019; cert. not granted)
Based on: Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 6.20 'Home-Sharing and Vacation Rentals' — Ordinance 2484 adopted May 12, 2015
Summary of the rule
Vacation rentals (whole-home or partial exclusive transient use of 30 days or fewer where the host is not present) are prohibited anywhere in the city.
Active litigation / open question
HomeAway.com, Inc.; Airbnb, Inc. v. City of Santa Monica, 918 F.3d 676 (9th Cir. 2019) — Ninth Circuit affirmed dismissal, upholding the Home-Sharing Ordinance (Ord. 2535); rejected Communications Decency Act preemption and First Amendment challenges to platform obligations. Rehearing denied; ordinance stands. Source ↗
Reported as fact only, reflecting the code as currently in effect — not legal advice, and not a prediction of the outcome. Verify current status before relying on it.
Last reviewed Sep 9, 2026 · Sources · Report an error
Pending legislation
Monitoring Del Mar · system last checked Oct 25, 2026
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A city permit is not the whole picture — HOA, condominium, deed, or lease rules may be stricter.
City Watch provides good-faith summaries of publicly available information as of the review date shown. Rules, enforcement, and permit availability can change, and summaries may contain errors or omissions. Ratings describe the general regulatory environment; they do not establish whether a particular property or stay is permitted. This is general information, not legal advice. Before buying, listing, or hosting, verify applicable requirements with the responsible authorities and review any HOA, condominium, deed, or lease restrictions.