Short-Term Rentals

The City of Santa Barbara provides an interactive map that can be used to determine the zone residential properties are located within. Enter an address in the “SantaBarbaraLocatorView” field on the top left of the map to start.

Zoning Map Description:

• Coastal Zone (blue lined area): Short-term rentals are prohibited.
• Inland Zone (purple area): Short-term rentals permitted upon issuance of land use permits.
• Inland Zone (gray area): Short-term rentals prohibited.
   

Categories of Short-Term Rental Operations in the City:

Category 1: Coastal Zone and Permitted Inland Zone 
(Purple area plus blue lined area on zoning map) 
A short-term rental in both the coastal zone and permitted zone of the inland area may operate with a valid land use permit from the Community Development Department, a Business Tax Certificate, and is required to pay Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT).

Category 2: Coastal Zone 
(Blue lined area on zoning map) 
A short-term rental in the coastal zone without a valid land use permit from the Community Development Department may operate with a Business Tax Certificate and is required to pay Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT).

Category 3: Permitted Inland Zone with Land Use Permit 
(Purple area on zoning map) 
A short-term rental in the permitted zone of the inland area may operate with a valid land use permit from the Community Development Department, a Business Tax Certificate, and is required to pay Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT).

Category 4: Permitted Inland Zone Lacking Land Use Permit 
(Purple area on zoning map) 
A short-term rental in the permitted zone of the inland area without a valid land use permit from the Community Development Department is not authorized to operate as an STR.

Category 5: Outside Coastal Zone or Permitted Inland Zone 
(Gray area on zoning map) 
A short-term rental outside the coastal zone or permitted zone of the inland area is not authorized to operate as an STR.

STRs have become a popular form of visitor lodging in the City within the past decade. While an informal market may have existed in years past, hosts can now make a spare room or an entire apartment or house available to potential visitors through various internet platform companies.

In many areas of the City, unregulated short-term rentals are inherently incompatible with the surrounding land uses and neighborhoods due to the intensity of use and potential nuisance impacts related to noise, parking, littering, traffic congestion, public safety, “party houses,” loss of community, and the displacement of long-term residents.

To address this problem, on April 25, 2023, City Council approved a one-year Short-Term Rental Enforcement Pilot Program to be funded and run from the City Attorney’s Office. This program officially launched on August 1, 2023. As directed by City Council, the Pilot Program gathered data on the number and location of short-term rentals operating in the City. The Pilot Program found a large number of unlawful short-term rentals operating throughout the City. The Pilot Program also worked to gain compliance with the City’s zoning laws through investigation and, if necessary, prosecution of unlawful STRs in the inland areas of the City or in response to nuisance-based complaints in the Coastal Zone. On April 16, 2024, Council directed that the Pilot Program be made into a permanent enforcement program in Fiscal Year 2025.

Launched August 1, 2023, our Short-Term Rental Enforcement Program aims to address unlawful short-term rentals in the City.

If you have concerns about a property being used as a short-term rental, you can file a complaint using our online form or by calling our hotline at (805) 897-1934.

Short-term rentals, whether operating lawfully or unlawfully, are required to pay business taxes and transient occupancy taxes to the City of Santa Barbara. The issuance of a Business Tax Certificate and/or payment of transient occupancy taxes do not legalize operating a short-term rental.

Santa Barbara Municipal Code (SBMC) Section 5.04.040 provides “obtaining a tax certificate and the remittance of tax owed are solely intended to raise revenue for municipal purposes, and is not intended for regulation.” Moreover, SBMC Section 5.04.030 provides that "No payment of tax under the provisions of this chapter shall be construed as permission to conduct or carry on a business in such a manner so as to create or maintain a nuisance."