Which rules apply, city by city.

Start with the parcel, not the postcode

A mailing address that reads “Newport Beach” is not proof that the parcel is inside the City of Newport Beach, and a home in unincorporated Orange County can carry a city name in its address. The first task is to establish which incorporated city the parcel sits in, or whether it is unincorporated County. Everything else follows from that answer, including whether there is a path at all.

Anaheim: closed to new rentals

The City program page states that a June 2019 City Council ordinance, Chapter 4.05, reversed a 2016 ban and phase-out and “allows the majority of STRs to continue operating in Anaheim under strict regulations and good neighbor policies,” and that “the opening of entirely new STRs remains prohibited under the new policy.” The City FAQ adds that a permit is valid for one year, that renting for 30 days or less requires one, that the minimum stay is three nights, and that a City Business Tax Certificate with a regulatory permit number is issued through the process.

The detail that catches buyers is transferability. The FAQ states that the permit is not transferable and that any change of ownership or address requires a new application within 14 days. If you are buying an Anaheim home on the basis that it comes with a short-term rental permit, ask the City about that specific address in writing before you exchange.

Newport Beach: eligible zones, and a closed cap

The City states that “short term lodging is allowed in Newport Beach but is limited to certain residential districts and requires a business license and short term lodging permit from the City.” Its FAQ names those districts as R-1.5, R-2 and RM, and defines the use as renting a residential unit for 30 consecutive days or less, including home sharing. It also states that “the maximum number of active short term lodging permits is limited to 1,550 at any time,” and, on the date checked, that “no new permits are being issued at this time until the number of active permits is below 1,550 active permits.” A waitlist is published. City transient occupancy tax is given as 10% of the lease amount.

Laguna Beach: not in the residential districts

This is the clearest statement in the market, and the one owners most often have not read: “STL is no longer allowed in the residential districts (R-1, R-2, and R-3). Existing permitted STL units in the residential districts are legal nonconforming and may continue to operate. The use runs with the land as opposed to the owner.” New short-term lodging is confined to the LB/P, C-N, C-1 and CH-M districts and named Downtown Specific Plan commercial districts with an Administrative Use Permit, or the SLV district with a Conditional Use Permit, under a 20% conversion limit, a 300-unit city-wide maximum and a separate allowance of 165 home-share units.

Chapter 5.84, effective 1 July 2025 and enforced from 1 October 2025, layers on a Short-Term Lodging Unit License, a City business license, a use permit and transient occupancy tax registration, plus a 24/7 local contact who responds to complaints within 60 minutes, neighbour notification within 200 feet before a new license issues, and the license number on every listing. Chapter 25.23, which sets where the use is allowed, was certified by the California Coastal Commission in 2020.

San Clemente, Huntington Beach, Dana Point

San Clemente defines short-term lodging as renting a dwelling unit for 29 or fewer consecutive days and runs two routes. Short-Term Lodging Units are allowed in certain mixed-use and multi-family residential zones where fewer than 20 percent of housing units are already permitted. Short-Term Apartment Rentals cover parcels outside those areas, but only on a multi-family property under single ownership where the owner or a trained and qualified property manager lives on-site while short-term lodging occurs in up to five other units, 300 feet from other STARs and STLUs. Neither route is aimed at an ordinary detached house.

Huntington Beach splits the city into Zone 1, everywhere except Sunset Beach, and Zone 2, Sunset Beach. Hosted, owner-occupied rentals are allowed in both; un-hosted whole-home rentals only in Zone 2. Dana Point does issue new permits under caps of 115 inside the Coastal Zone and 115 outside it, with a sub-cap of 60 for Non-Primary rentals and a waitlist once a cap is met.

The HOA can settle it before the city does

CC&Rs, condominium and master-association rules, leases, deeds and insurance conditions can prohibit the use outright, restrict guest parking or close shared amenities to renters. Two cities here put it in writing. Newport Beach tells an owner inside an association to review their CC&Rs and follow up with the HOA before advertising or applying. Dana Point states that an application must include evidence the association does not legally prohibit the use, and that “without HOA approval, the City will not issue the STR permit.”

Get the current recorded documents, not a summary, and get any board determination in writing. It is the cheapest step in this whole sequence and the one most likely to stop the others.