City Watch
Short-term rental rules in San Diego, CA
How San Diego 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.
- Citywide Tier 3 whole-home cap: 1% of housing units
- Tier 4 Mission Beach cap: 30%, waitlist closed
- Excess demand random lottery waitlist
- Four-tier structure; caps on Tier 3 and Tier 4 only
- Coastal zone LCP overlay
Based on: San Diego Municipal Code Ch.5 Art.10 — Short-Term Residential Occupancy (STRO)
Summary of the rule
Tier 3 whole-home (non-Mission-Beach) licenses capped at 1% of San Diego's total housing units OUTSIDE the Mission Beach Community Planning Area (housing universe/category: citywide housing units minus Mission Beach CPA), per SANDAG's most recent estimate, rounded up to the nearest whole number
View the ordinance source ↗✓ Verified
Active litigation / open question
STRO ordinance was subject to legal/political dispute prior to 2023 implementation.
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 8, 2026 · Sources · Report an error
Pending legislation
Monitoring San Diego · system last checked Nov 9, 2026
Owners in San Diego
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City Watch tracks changes from public sources — council agendas, state bills, local news — not a complete legal compendium.
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.