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Casago Orange County, a DBA of Acme CA Vacations, Inc. California DRE #02439360. Michael Flannery, Designated Broker.
Orange County · Regulation watch
One row per authority, with what to check, the official page and the date we read it. Two of these cities do not allow a new short-term rental to open, and one runs a cap that was closed when we checked.
Existing owner? Access your Owner Portal
Jurisdiction table
Each row is its own authority, page and date. Read the row matching your parcel, then the private-documents row, which applies to every property here.
| Property area / authority | What to check | Official source |
|---|---|---|
| City of AnaheimClosed to new short-term rentals | Anaheim does not open new short-term rentals. The City program page states that a June 2019 City Council ordinance (Chapter 4.05) reversed a 2016 ban and phase-out, that the policy “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 renting a residential property for 30 days or less requires a short-term rental permit, that the permit is valid one year, that it is not transferable and a change of ownership or address requires a new application within 14 days, that the minimum stay is three nights, and that a City Business Tax Certificate with a regulatory permit number comes with the process. So an Anaheim home is only a short-term rental if it already holds a permit — and the City says that permit does not follow a sale. | Short-Term Rental Program — City of Anaheim Checked 2026-09-20 Short-Term Rental Program FAQ Checked 2026-09-20 |
| City of Newport BeachCapped — closed on 2026-09-20 | Newport Beach allows short-term lodging, but not everywhere and not to new applicants right now. 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.” The City FAQ names those districts as R-1.5, R-2 and RM, defines the use as renting a residential unit for 30 consecutive days or less including home sharing, and states that “the maximum number of active short term lodging permits is limited to 1,550 at any time.” On the day we read it the FAQ also states: “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. The FAQ gives City transient occupancy tax as 10% of the lease amount and tells an owner inside an HOA to review their CC&Rs and follow up with the association before advertising or applying. Renewal and tax forms are mailed at the end of September and are due back by October 31. | Short Term Lodging FAQ — City of Newport Beach Checked 2026-09-20 Short Term Lodging Checked 2026-09-20 Latest Information Checked 2026-09-20 |
| City of Laguna BeachNot allowed in R-1, R-2, R-3 | Laguna Beach does not allow short-term lodging in its residential districts. The City page states plainly: “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, and to the SLV district with a Conditional Use Permit. No more than 20% of units in commercial and mixed-use districts may be converted, with a maximum of 300 units city-wide including those approved before October 2020, plus 165 home-share units inside those same districts. Chapter 5.84, effective July 1, 2025 and enforced from October 1, 2025, requires a Short-Term Lodging Unit License, a City business license, a use permit and TOT registration, a 24/7 local contact who responds within 60 minutes, neighbor notification within 200 feet before a new license issues, the license number on every listing, and quarterly TOT filings even with no rentals. Chapter 25.23, which sets where the use is allowed, was certified by the California Coastal Commission in 2020. | Short-Term Lodging — City of Laguna Beach Checked 2026-09-20 |
| City of San ClementeZone-limited, two pathways | San Clemente permits short-term lodging, but neither pathway is aimed at an ordinary detached house in a standard residential neighborhood. The City defines it as “the rental of a dwelling unit for 29 or fewer consecutive days,” regulated by Municipal Code Section 17.28.292 and Chapter 3.24, and says these uses “require a permit and an operating license.” Short-Term Lodging Units are “allowed in certain mixed use and multi-family residential zones,” only where fewer than 20 percent of housing units are already permitted, and need a one-time STLU Zoning Permit the City lists at $140 plus an annual Operating License at $105. Short-Term Apartment Rentals cover parcels outside the STLU 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; the City lists the STAR permit at $536. Both expire on a change of ownership, a year without the use, or a lapsed or revoked Operating License. Fees are as published on the date checked. | Planning Services (Short Term Lodging Units) — City of San Clemente Checked 2026-09-20 STLU Permit Application guide Checked 2026-09-17 |
| City of Huntington BeachWhole-home only in Sunset Beach | Huntington Beach splits the city in two. A short-term rental is a residential unit rented for 30 or fewer consecutive nights. Zone 1 is everywhere except Sunset Beach; Zone 2 is Sunset Beach. Hosted, owner-occupied rentals are allowed in both. Un-hosted rentals — the whole-home arrangement most owners have in mind — are allowed only in Zone 2. Outside Sunset Beach an owner cannot rent the whole home short-term at all. A valid, non-transferrable annual City permit is required, and the City limits the count per property: one per single-family home, duplex or triplex, up to three on properties of four or more units where the CC&Rs allow it, and one per legally established ADU or junior ADU. Ordinance No. 4224, HBMC Chapter 5.120, effective February 19, 2021. | Short-Term Rentals — City of Huntington Beach Checked 2026-09-20 |
| City of Dana PointCapped, waitlist once full | Dana Point adopted regulations in 2023 and does issue new permits, subject to caps. The City states the rules “establish a permit cap of 115 in the Coastal Zone and a cap of 115 outside the Coastal Zone with a sub-cap of 60 for Non-Primary STRs,” and that “once the cap is met the applications that did not receive a permit will automatically be placed on a waitlist.” In the Coastal Zone the 115 applies to Non-Primary, Multi-Family and Mixed Use Parcel rentals; Home Stay and Primary rentals sit outside it but each one issued reduces the 115 by one. Priority runs Primary and Home Stay, then Multi-Family Homestays, Mixed-Use Parcel and Non-Primary. The page publishes no current count, so whether the cap is open on a given day has to be asked of the City. Dana Point also puts private documents ahead of the permit: an application “shall include evidence that the proposed STR is not legally prohibited by the applicable homeowner’s association conditions, covenants, and restrictions (CC+Rs),” and “without HOA approval, the City will not issue the STR permit.” | Short Term Rentals — City of Dana Point Checked 2026-09-20 |
| Unincorporated Orange County onlyUse only if outside every city | This row applies only when the parcel is not inside an incorporated city. County materials describe a short-term rental permit and operating standards, and the adopted County Zoning Code identifies a permit path. Both were read on an earlier date and have not been re-read today, so treat the detail as indicative and confirm the current process with OC Development Services. A County rule never substitutes for a city rule. Confirm the parcel boundary first — a mailing address carrying a city name is not proof of city limits. | Short-Term Rentals handout — County of Orange OC Development Services Checked 2026-09-17 Adopted Orange County Zoning Code Checked 2026-09-17 |
| California coastal zoneOverlay, not a permit desk | Much of this market sits in the coastal zone, and that shapes how the local rules get made. The California Coastal Commission publishes a record of short-term and vacation rental Local Coastal Program actions and a memo on short-term and vacation rentals in the California coastal zone. Two cities here say so themselves: Laguna Beach states Chapter 25.23 was certified by the Commission in 2020, and Dana Point states it received Commission approval to permit new short-term rentals in its Coastal Zone. You do not apply to the Commission for a rental permit. For an owner it means a city’s coastal and non-coastal areas can carry different programs, as Dana Point’s two separate caps show. | Public Access & Recreation (short-term/vacation rental LCP actions) — California Coastal Commission Checked 2026-09-20 |
| Transient occupancy taxLocal, never statewide | There is no statewide short-term rental tax rate in California. The CDTFA Business Taxes Law Guide places occupancy taxes under Additional Local Taxes, Revenue and Taxation Code Part 1.7, Chapter 1, where section 7280 is titled “Authority to levy tax on privilege of occupying room(s) of lodging.” The rate, the registration and the filing calendar come from the city or county. That is why figures differ across one drive down the coast: Newport Beach gives 10% City transient occupancy tax, and Laguna Beach gives 14% total — 12% City TOT plus a 2% Laguna Beach Tourism Marketing District assessment, filed quarterly even with no rentals. | Additional Local Taxes, Chapter 1 — CDTFA Business Taxes Law Guide Checked 2026-09-20 |
| HOA, condominium, deed, lease and community rulesPrivate governing documents | Private documents decide what a city permit cannot. CC&Rs, condominium and master-association rules, leases, deeds and insurance conditions can prohibit the use outright, cap guest parking, close shared amenities to renters or require board approval, and no city or County process resolves any of it. Two City pages here point at it directly: Newport Beach tells an owner inside an association to review their CC&Rs and follow up before advertising or applying, and Dana Point will not issue a permit without evidence the association does not legally prohibit the use. Collect the recorded documents and any board determination in writing before you spend money on a permit. | Further verification needed |
Steps in order
Each one can stop the next. Where two cities are closed to new entrants, step one is not a formality.
Establish which incorporated city the parcel sits in, or whether it is unincorporated County. Mailing addresses cross city lines. That answer decides which program and which cap apply, and in two cities whether there is a path at all.
Before zoning, ask the City the blunt question: can a new permit be issued for this address today? Anaheim says new short-term rentals are prohibited. Newport Beach says no new permits until active permits fall below 1,550. Dana Point runs caps with a waitlist. Get it in writing.
Newport Beach names R-1.5, R-2 and RM. Laguna Beach excludes R-1, R-2 and R-3. San Clemente names certain mixed-use and multi-family zones. Huntington Beach separates Sunset Beach from everywhere else. Look up the parcel zoning.
Pull the recorded CC&Rs, association rules, lease, deed and insurance conditions. Dana Point will not issue a permit without evidence the association does not prohibit the use. Get any board determination in writing before you apply.
Register for the city transient occupancy tax and calendar its filings, including periods with no guests. Add the business licence, put the licence number on listings where required, and post the local contact, house rules and waste instructions the city asks for.
Open items
No. Every incorporated city runs its own program. Anaheim says opening entirely new short-term rentals is prohibited. Laguna Beach no longer allows the use in its R-1, R-2 and R-3 districts. Newport Beach allows it in R-1.5, R-2 and RM under a 1,550-permit cap. Huntington Beach allows whole-home rental only in Sunset Beach. San Clemente and Dana Point run separate permit routes, and unincorporated County is separate again. Match the parcel to its city first.
The City program page states that the opening of entirely new short-term rentals remains prohibited under the policy adopted in June 2019, which allows most previously permitted rentals to continue. The City FAQ also states that a permit is not transferable and that any change of ownership or address requires a new application within 14 days. Ask the City about the specific address before buying on the assumption a permit comes with the house. Checked 2026-09-20.
The City page states that short-term lodging is no longer allowed in the residential districts R-1, R-2 and R-3, and that existing permitted units there are legal nonconforming and may continue to operate, with the use running with the land rather than the owner. New short-term lodging is confined to named commercial and mixed-use districts with a use permit. If your home is in a residential district and has no existing permit, the City's own page says the use is not available. Checked 2026-09-20.
It was not on the day we checked. The City FAQ states that the maximum number of active short term lodging permits is limited to 1,550 at any time and that no new permits are being issued until the number of active permits falls below 1,550. A waitlist is published. Confirm the current position with the City, because the count moves. Checked 2026-09-20.
No. You apply to the city or the County. The Commission reviews what coastal cities may adopt through their Local Coastal Programs. Laguna Beach states its Chapter 25.23 was certified by the Commission in 2020, and Dana Point states it received Commission approval to permit new short-term rentals in its Coastal Zone. Practically, coastal and inland parts of one city can carry different programs.
It can, and in this market a city may ask about it first. Newport Beach tells owners 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 that the association does not legally prohibit the use, and that without HOA approval the City will not issue the permit. Collect the current recorded documents and any board decision in writing.
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.
