City Watch
Short-term rental rules in Monterey, CA
How Monterey 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.
- Whole-home short-term rentals are prohibited in residential zones: 'Short-term Residential Rental' (transient lodging under 30 days, § 38-11) is NOT a listed permitted use in the R-1 land-use schedule (§ 38-23), which states 'If a use classification is not listed, it is prohibited.' This is a residential-zoning exclusion / whole-home ban — a hard SUPPLY device.
- The prohibition reaches owner-present home-shares too: transient STR is barred as a use classification regardless of owner occupancy (R-1 permits only single-family residential, boarders/lodgers in non-kitchen rooms, care uses, ADUs — not transient rental).
- City separately prohibits ADVERTISING short-term rentals (Monterey City Code § 22-19.5, Ord. 3564, 2017) and monitors listing platforms for enforcement.
- Long-standing, actively enforced posture: city reports notifying 100+ owners and prevailing in all STR citation appeals to Superior Court since 2014.
Based on: Monterey City Code Ch. 38 (Zoning Ordinance): § 38-11 defines 'Short-term Residential Rental' (transient lodging <30
Summary of the rule
Monterey City Code § 38-23 (R-1 Residential Single-Family District) land-use schedule permits only listed use classifications and states 'If a use classification is not listed, it is prohibited.' 'Short-term Residential Rental' — defined at § 38-11 as transient lodging for less than a calendar month / less than 30 consecutive days — is not a listed permitted use, so STRs are prohibited in the R-1 residential district (residential-zoning exclusion / whole-home ban).
Active litigation / open question
Multiple STR enforcement citations appealed to Monterey County Superior Court since 2014; City of Monterey reported prevailing in all appeals, upholding its short-term-rental prohibition. 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 Monterey · system last checked Oct 25, 2026
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