City Watch
Short-term rental rules in Mendocino, CA
How Mendocino 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.
- Hard countywide cap in the Town of Mendocino: no more than 10 Vacation Home Rentals and 20 Single Unit Rentals may be licensed at any time (new license denied once the cap is reached).
- Vacation Home Rentals are excluded from residential Zoning Districts and may exist only where no other use except an existing single-family dwelling is present (residential-zoning exclusion + supply device).
- Restriction lives in the Coastal-Commission-certified Mendocino Town Zoning Code (Division III LCP), so the cap is durable and in force in the coastal zone; each new license also requires a coastal development permit certification.
- Mendocino is an unincorporated CDP; Mendocino County governs. Inland STR ordinance is still in development (not applicable to the coastal Town of Mendocino).
Based on: Mendocino County Code Title 20 (Zoning Ordinance), Division III (Mendocino Town Zoning Code), Chapter 20.748 — Single
Summary of the rule
No more than 10 Vacation Home Rentals and 20 Single Unit Rentals may be licensed in the Town of Mendocino; new license denied once cap is reached.
View the ordinance source ↗✓ Verified
Last reviewed Sep 9, 2026 · Sources · Report an error
Pending legislation
Monitoring Mendocino · system last checked Oct 25, 2026
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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.