We use cookies. We use cookies, including analytics, to improve your experience.
Casago SoCal, a DBA of Acme CA Vacations, Inc. · Michael Flannery · CA DRE #02439360.
Pacific Grove · Neighborhood pulse
The one Monterey County city on this page still taking new short-term rental licence applications — and only for property in its Coastal and Commercial areas.
Existing owner? Access your Owner Portal
Pacific Grove is the quieter end of the Monterey Peninsula: shoreline, Victorian streets, Asilomar and the monarch season. For owners it is also the Peninsula’s only open door. The City states that new Short-Term Rental licence applications are being accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis, but that new applicants are limited to the Coastal and Commercial areas, under a 250 city-wide cap with 84 licences active when its page was checked on 2026-09-20. Home Sharing, with the owner on site, is a separate path available throughout the City.
See Monterey lists Pacific Grove among its destinations alongside Monterey, Carmel-by-the-Sea and Pebble Beach, and describes the county in terms of trail hiking, kayaking, wine, cycling and otter spotting in crisp coastal air. Pacific Grove’s share of that is the slow end: the shoreline route, the lighthouse, Lover’s Point, Asilomar and butterfly season.
The guest follows from that. This is not a party town or a pool market, and a listing that pitches it as either will attract the wrong booking and the wrong review. What works is a warm, dry, well-lit house within walking distance of the water, with parking explained honestly and a guide that treats the shoreline as the main event.
A licence is required for any property, including rooms and guest houses whether or not detached, rented for less than 30 consecutive days, under Pacific Grove Municipal Code Chapters 7.40 and 23.64.350. There are two licences. A Short-Term Rental licence covers renting an entire dwelling unit. A Home Sharing licence covers an owner living on site and renting one room.
The constraint that decides most cases is geographic. The City states that new STR applicants must have property in the Coastal or Commercial zone, and that the parcel must comply with the 55-foot zone of exclusion — the distance of 55 lineal feet from an existing STR parcel boundary — screened at the time of application. STR licences are limited to 250 city-wide, and the City reported 84 active licences on 2026-09-20. Home Sharing licences, the City states, are not subject to the cap and density limits.
The operating conditions are specific and worth reading before, not after. Overnight occupants aged 18 or over are limited to two per bedroom plus one per site. A site manager is required unless the owner manages the property and lives no farther than 30 minutes by vehicle. On-site parking, if available, must be made available to renters. Amplified sound audible beyond the property boundaries is prohibited, and signs advertising the property as a short-term rental are prohibited. The City states the application fee is $141 with a further $124 due on approval, and gives the current transient occupancy tax rate as 12%.
Pacific Grove is exposed shoreline, so the damp-coast maintenance pattern applies in full: salt on hardware, moisture in older housing stock, drains that need clearing before the wet season, and heating that matters more than cooling. Many homes here are older and characterful, which is part of the appeal and part of the maintenance bill.
Private documents still decide plenty. Condominium rules, deed restrictions and insurance conditions can restrict rental use, guest parking and access regardless of a City licence, and they are enforced separately. Read them before marketing.
Keep researching this coast
As at 2026-09-20 the City states that new Short-Term Rental licence applications are being accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis, subject to the property being in the Coastal or Commercial zone and complying with the 55-foot zone of exclusion at the time of application. Whether the 250 city-wide cap has room today is a question for the City.
The City describes it as the distance of 55 lineal feet from an existing STR parcel boundary, and states that the property will be screened against this limit at the time of application, alongside a one-licence-per-parcel rule. A neighbouring licence can therefore make a parcel ineligible regardless of anything else about it.
A new STR licence is not on offer for it. The City states that new applicants are limited to those areas. Home Sharing, where the owner resides at the site and rents one room, is permitted throughout the City and the City states it is not subject to the cap and density limits, so ask program staff about eligibility for that instead.
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.
