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Casago SoCal, a DBA of Acme CA Vacations, Inc. California DRE #02439360. Michael Flannery, Designated Broker.
Los Angeles / Malibu / South Bay · Regulation watch
There is no “Los Angeles area” rule. Eleven separate authorities reach into this market and several of them exclude a home that is not somebody’s primary residence. Every row below names its authority, states what that authority actually says, links the official page and carries the date we read it.
Existing owner? Access your Owner Portal
Jurisdiction by jurisdiction
Each row is what that authority’s own page says, not a paraphrase of a trade article. Where an authority excludes a home that is not the host’s primary residence, the row says so first.
| Property area / authority | What to check | Official source |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the City of Los Angeles — including Venice, Silver Lake, Hollywood, Westchester, San Pedro and Pacific PalisadesNo investment path | The City permits only Home-Sharing, and City Planning states the program “restricts eligibility to Angelenos’ primary residences in order to prevent the wholesale conversion of homes into guest accommodations.” A host registers online, displays the registration number on every advertisement and listing, and renews every 12 months; a tenant needs a notarized landlord affidavit or property owner authorization. A home that is not the host’s own primary residence does not qualify, so a non-owner-occupied investment property inside city limits has no short-term-rental path at all. The City’s own comparison chart puts Regular Home-Sharing at up to 120 days per calendar year and Extended Home-Sharing at up to 365, with Extended requiring an active Regular registration plus six months held or 60 nights hosted. Homes under the Rent Stabilization Ordinance, the Ellis Act, a low-income restriction or an affordable housing covenant are excluded. City Planning has announced that updated Administrative Guidelines and a new Home-Sharing Application and Registration Portal take effect on September 28, 2026. | Home-Sharing, Los Angeles City Planning Checked 2026-09-20 |
| City of MalibuPermit program | Malibu requires a permit for any home rented for 30 days or less, and since January 15, 2021 a short-term rental may only be conducted under a valid STR Rental Permit. The City states that advertising or operating without a permit violates Ordinance No. 468, with penalties of $1,000 per day or violation, or twice the advertised daily rental rate per day, whichever is higher. Its Hosted Ordinance No. 472, which would add an onsite-host requirement, primary residency requirements and multifamily restrictions, cannot take effect until the associated Local Coastal Program amendment is certified by the California Coastal Commission — and the Commission voted to deny that amendment on August 12, 2022. So the hosted and primary-residence requirements are not in force today. Transient occupancy tax applies under Municipal Code 3.24; the City page puts the rate at 15% effective January 1, 2021. Owners must hold a valid onsite wastewater treatment system operating permit or a compliance agreement, without which the City says the STR permit becomes invalid, and must give guests the Short-Term Rental Code of Conduct and post it inside the main entrance door. | Short-Term Rental Program, City of Malibu Checked 2026-09-20 STR Ordinances In Progress, City of Malibu Checked 2026-09-20 Transient Occupancy Tax: Residential, City of Malibu Checked 2026-09-20 |
| City of Santa MonicaHost must live on site | Santa Monica’s Homesharing and Vacation Rentals Ordinance prohibits short-term vacation rentals, which the City defines as rentals of less than 30 days when a host does not live on site, and permits homesharing, rentals of less than 30 days when a host does live on site, subject to regulation. A non-owner-occupied home has no short-stay path here. The City’s separate minimum-lease requirements are a further consideration for longer residential leasing. | Housing Protection, City of Santa Monica Checked 2026-09-20 |
| City of Manhattan BeachCoastal Zone only | Short-term rentals are banned in residential zones. Ordinance No. 19-0007, adopted April 16, 2019, left the prohibition on renting in residential zones for less than 30 days intact, extended it to renters and lessees, and prohibited maintaining advertisements of short-term rentals. The City also states that on April 4, 2022 the Court of Appeal issued an opinion that the ban does not apply to properties within the Coastal Zone, and that short-term rentals are still banned outside it. Coastal Zone status is determined from the City’s zoning map or interactive GIS map, parcel by parcel. Every short-term rental needs a business license from Revenue Services and must levy, collect and remit transient occupancy tax. The City page also describes a temporary allowance outside the Coastal Zone for the 2026 FIFA World Cup as a Council item with a public hearing notice “coming soon”; the page records no outcome, so treat it as unresolved. | Short-Term Rentals, City of Manhattan Beach Checked 2026-09-20 |
| City of Hermosa BeachNamed zones | The City says that in response to a recent legal decision short-term rentals are now allowed in the coastal zone and in commercial zones previously established by the pilot program, specifically properties zoned C-2, C-3, SPA 7 or SPA 8 outside the coastal zone. A short-term rental is defined in HBMC 17.04 as under 30 consecutive days. A City business license is required, operators pay transient occupancy tax, and a 24-hour maintenance and management contact must be provided. Good Neighbor Guidelines apply, with quiet after 10:00 p.m. The City page states no primary-residence requirement. Confirm the parcel’s zone and coastal status with the City before marketing. | Short-Term Rentals, City of Hermosa Beach Checked 2026-09-20 |
| City of Redondo BeachProhibited | The City’s Code Enforcement page lists, among the violations it acts on, that short term and vacation rentals are not allowed, naming rentals of less than 30 days. There is no owner path here to present for a short-stay plan. A furnished stay of 30 nights or more is a different question and a different body of law; confirm it with the City and against the home’s private governing documents. | Code Enforcement, City of Redondo Beach Checked 2026-09-20 |
| City of TorranceCommercial zones only | Torrance Municipal Code 92.43.020 requires a Planning Administrative Action for any short-term rental advertised, operated or located in the City. In commercial zones — C-1 through C-5, C-R, R-P, the commercial sector of the Downtown Torrance District and the Hawthorne Boulevard Corridor sub-districts — short-term rentals are permitted in residences. In residential zones such as R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, R-5, R-TH, R-MF and P-D, short-term rentals “solely operated as a home share” are permitted, and 92.43.010(b) defines a home share as an activity in which a host provides lodging for guests in their residence “while the host lives on site,” as an incidental use. Under 92.43.090 an unpermitted short-term rental is unlawful and a public nuisance, with each day a separate offense. | Torrance Municipal Code, Division 9 (92.43) Checked 2026-09-20 |
| Unincorporated Los Angeles CountyPrimary residence | County Planning states that Title 7 “limits STRs to registered primary residences, requires annual registration, limits the number of days to 90 in a calendar year in the primary residence rented without a host present overnight, and limits the number of guests allowed.” Title 22 allows short-term rentals only as an accessory use to an existing dwelling unit in zones that permit residential uses. The Treasurer and Tax Collector requires a Short-Term Rental Registration Certificate before renting, and hosts collect and pay transient occupancy tax within 30 days after the rental start date. The same County source says its registration requirements do not apply to properties in coastal zones, where it describes short-term rentals as currently unregulated — which is a County statement about County registration, not a clearance under the Coastal Act. This row never applies to an address inside an incorporated city. | Short-Term Rentals Ordinance, LA County Planning Checked 2026-09-20 Short-Term Rentals, LA County Treasurer and Tax Collector Checked 2026-09-20 |
| California Coastal Commission — coastal zoneCoastal Act | Much of this market sits inside the coastal zone, and that changes what a city can do. In guidance to coastal planning and development directors the Commission states that regulating short-term and vacation rentals represents a change in the intensity of use and of access to the shoreline and thus constitutes development to which the Coastal Act and Local Coastal Programs must apply, and that it has not historically supported blanket vacation rental bans, having found such programs inconsistent with the Coastal Act because prohibitions unduly limit public recreational access. It also notes restrictions may be appropriate where a community already has ample supply and further proliferation would impair community character. Two local outcomes follow: Malibu’s hosted ordinance is still not in effect, and Manhattan Beach’s ban was held not to reach its coastal zone. None of this is a permit, and it does not override a city’s certified program. It is described here only as the official page states it, and it is not legal advice. | Short-Term/Vacation Rentals in the California Coastal Zone, California Coastal Commission Checked 2026-09-20 |
| Transient occupancy taxCity or county | Transient occupancy tax in California is imposed by the city or the county, not by the state tax agency, so the rate and the filing route change with the jurisdiction. Malibu levies it under Municipal Code 3.24, Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach both require operators to collect and remit it, hosts in unincorporated Los Angeles County pay the County within 30 days after the rental start date, and hosts in the City of Los Angeles remit to the City alongside a per-night fee. Register in the right place before the first booking. | Transient Occupancy Tax: Residential, City of Malibu Checked 2026-09-20 Short-Term Rentals, LA County Treasurer and Tax Collector Checked 2026-09-20 |
| HOA, condominium, CC&Rs, deeds, leases and building rulesPrivate governing documents | No city or county source decides whether a private community permits the intended rental use, guest parking or amenity access. Coastal condominium and townhome buildings across this market are governed by documents that can be stricter than any municipal rule, and a City permit is not private permission. Read the current documents and obtain any written determination before the home is marketed. | Further verification needed |
Steps in order
Owners here often start with the listing and work backwards. In a county with this many boundaries that wastes the most money.
Use the assessor parcel number and the city’s own zoning or GIS map, not the mailing address. Establish the city or unincorporated status, the zoning district, and whether the parcel sits inside the coastal zone. In Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach that last answer is the whole question.
Read the responsible authority’s own page and ask one question: does it allow a rental of under 30 days when the owner does not live in the home? If the answer is no, stop and price a furnished stay of 30 nights or more instead. That is the honest plan in much of this market.
Where a path exists it comes with paperwork: Malibu’s STR Rental Permit, a Manhattan Beach or Hermosa Beach business licence, a Torrance Planning Administrative Action, a County Short-Term Rental Registration Certificate. Several require the number to appear in advertising. Get the permit before the listing, not after.
The tax is imposed by the city or the county, not the state, so the filing route follows the jurisdiction. Register before the first booking. Unincorporated County hosts pay within 30 days after the rental start date.
HOA, condominium, CC&R, deed, lease and building rules are separate from every public rule and can be stricter. Then handle posted notices and safety: Malibu requires the Code of Conduct posted inside the main entrance door and an onsite wastewater treatment system permit or compliance agreement; Hermosa Beach requires a 24-hour contact.
Still open
The City of Los Angeles, because Home-Sharing eligibility is restricted to a host's own primary residence. The City of Santa Monica, which prohibits rentals of under 30 days when the host does not live on site. Unincorporated Los Angeles County, which limits short-term rentals to registered primary residences with a 90-day unhosted limit. Torrance in its residential zones, where only a home share with the host living on site is permitted. And the City of Redondo Beach, which states that short term and vacation rentals are not allowed. All checked 2026-09-20.
The City of Malibu under its STR Rental Permit program, with no onsite-host or primary-residence requirement currently in effect. Manhattan Beach inside the Coastal Zone, per the City's statement about the April 4, 2022 Court of Appeal opinion. Hermosa Beach in the coastal zone and on C-2, C-3, SPA 7 and SPA 8 properties outside it. Torrance in named commercial zones. Each still requires a parcel-level check, a permit or licence and tax registration.
No, and this page does not offer legal advice on the point. The California Coastal Commission's guidance says regulating short-term rentals constitutes development to which the Coastal Act and Local Coastal Programs must apply, and that it has not historically supported blanket vacation rental bans because prohibitions unduly limit public recreational access. Two local outcomes reflect that: Malibu's hosted ordinance is not in effect and Manhattan Beach's ban was held not to reach its Coastal Zone. Neither is a permit, and a certified local program still governs.
Before launch, before each renewal, and before any material change to the listing such as a new minimum stay or a new advertising channel. This market has an active calendar: the City of Los Angeles portal and guidelines change on September 28, 2026, and the Manhattan Beach World Cup item is unresolved. The date on each row is the date we read the page, not a guarantee it has not changed since.
No. These are source-linked summaries for research, not a determination that a particular property may rent, and not Casago business approval. Use an address-specific professional review before committing to a plan.
Next step
Continue to the Owner Portal for a property-specific conversation. Prospective owners choose I'm considering the program. Existing owners sign in as an owner. Nothing about your home is sent from this page.
