City Watch
Short-term rental rules in Napa, CA
How Napa 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 citywide cap of 41 whole-home (non-hosted) permits, fully allocated with a closed waitlist
- whole-home STR prohibited except by capped vacation-rental permit
- non-hosted permit path foreclosed to new absentee operators
- hosted path (cap 60) requires the owner on-site
Based on: Napa Municipal Code § 17.52.515 (Vacation Rentals)
Summary of the rule
Per the City of Napa Vacation Rental Permits page (NMC § 17.52.515): 'In total, 41 Non-Hosted Accommodations and 60 Hosted Accommodations can be permitted. Currently, all 41 Permits for Non-Hosted Accommodations are taken, and the Wait List is full.' Non-hosted = whole-home (no residency required). The whole-home path is capped at 41, entirely allocated, and the waitlist is closed — an absentee operator cannot obtain a new whole-home permit. A maxed hard cap forecloses the absentee whole-home supply device.
View the ordinance source ↗✓ Verified
Last reviewed Sep 22, 2026 · Sources · Report an error
Pending legislation
Monitoring Napa · 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.