Jurisdiction table
Five authorities, five separate checks.
| Authority | What to check | Official source |
|---|---|---|
| City of Palm Springs · vacation rental programmeInside city limits | Palm Springs Municipal Code Chapter 5.25 allows vacation rentals and homeshares only as ancillary and secondary uses of residential property, limits them to single-family dwelling units and prohibits them in apartments, establishes a registration and permitting process with operational requirements, and confirms that a Vacation Rental Registration Certificate is a privilege, not a right. On July 8, 2026 the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 2133, which amended provisions of Chapter 5.25, amended Section 2.50.080 on appeals to the Administrative Appeals Board, and added Section 3.24.085 to implement California's Short-Term Rental Facilitator Act of 2025 within the City. | Vacation Rentals · City of Palm Springs Vacation Rental Certificate Checked 2026-09-19 |
| City of Palm Springs · neighborhood capacityCheck this first | Ordinance 2075 established Vacation Rental Certificate caps of 20% based on Organized Neighborhood total residential dwelling units. The City states that if a property is in a neighborhood at 20% or higher vacation-rental-to-residential-household percentage, the application will be returned, and the applicant may request to be placed on that neighborhood's wait list. Certificates already issued are not affected, even in neighborhoods over the cap. When a neighborhood falls below the cap, certificates are issued on a first in time, first in right basis by complete-application date. The City publishes an Excel table, a PDF table and the ONE-PS web map, updated weekly; neighborhoods labelled RA are not currently in an Organized Neighborhood. | Vacation Rental Neighborhood Percentage Information Checked 2026-09-19 |
| City of Palm Springs · tax and per-stay filingsPSMC 3.24 | Transient Occupancy Tax is governed by Palm Springs Municipal Code Chapter 3.24. A TOT form must be filed monthly for all vacation rental and homeshare properties, and a form is still due with a zero balance in a month with no guests. Failure to file carries a penalty and interest. Separately, a Contract Summary is required for each guest stay of 28 consecutive days or less, submitted through the operator's online business center; the contract itself is not accepted in its place, and Contract Summaries cannot be submitted retroactively. Homeshares are not required to submit a Contract Summary. TBID information sits with TOT. | Vacation Rental TOT and TBID Information Submit Contract Summary Checked 2026-09-19 |
| Unincorporated Riverside CountyOnly if outside any city | This row applies only when the parcel is not inside an incorporated city. The County's Short-Term Rental programme was established by Ordinance 927.1 in October 2022 and amended by Ordinance 927.2 in December 2023. The Board of Supervisors adopted Ordinance No. 927.3 and Ordinance 671.25 on August 25, 2026, with Ordinance No. 927.3 effective September 24, 2026. The renewal grace period has been eliminated and certificates must be renewed prior to their expiration date. A short-term rental is a residential dwelling rented for less than 30 consecutive calendar days but not less than two consecutive days and one night, and may include an ADU, junior ADU, second unit, guest quarter or ranchette unit not otherwise prohibited by state law. Certificates are issued by the Planning Department after application approval and a Code Enforcement inspection, are renewed annually, and a separate certificate is required for each short-term rental. Hotel, bed and breakfast inn or motel use is prohibited, as are commercial and venue activities such as weddings, receptions, concerts, festivals and large parties exceeding maximum occupancy without the correct event permit, and RVs, yurts, tents, treehouses and other non-habitable structures. | Short-Term Rental Program · Riverside County Planning Checked 2026-09-19 |
| Private governing documentsSeparate review | HOA and condominium rules, leases, deeds, CC&Rs and insurance conditions decide whether the intended use, guest parking and amenity access are permitted at your property. No City or County process makes that determination. The City publishes an HOA sample letter among its certificate documents, which is a tool for asking the association, not an answer from it. | Further verification needed |
Steps in order
Do these in sequence, not in parallel.
Each step can stop the one after it. Working through them in order saves the cost of discovering a blocker late.
Confirm the jurisdiction
Establish whether the parcel is inside the incorporated City of Palm Springs or in unincorporated Riverside County. The answer decides which programme, which forms and which authority apply. A mailing address is not proof of city limits.
Check neighborhood capacity
Inside the City, use the percentage table and the ONE-PS web map to find the Organized Neighborhood and its current percentage. If it is at or above 20%, an application will be returned and the only route is the wait list. Do this before you spend anything else.
Assemble the certificate file
The City lists government-issued identification for all applications and proof of liability insurance of no less than $500,000, plus an ownership form, a pool certification form, a Friends and Family List and a rental certificate safety inspection form. Additional documents cover a transient occupancy permit application, a land use permit for estate homes, an HOA sample letter and owner authorization for agency use. Ask the City which are current and applicable.
Set up the tax and filing routine
Register for Transient Occupancy Tax under PSMC Chapter 3.24 and put the monthly TOT filing in the calendar, including zero-guest months. Set up the per-stay Contract Summary routine in the online business center for every stay of 28 consecutive days or less, since it cannot be filed after the fact.
Clear the private documents and post the house rules
Review the CC&Rs, condominium rules, lease and deed, and get any determination in writing. Then post the required in-home notices and brief guests on the City's good-neighbor rules: no outside amplified noise while the home is rented, music contained so it is not observable at the property line, and vehicle and overnight occupancy limits set by the number of bedrooms.
Open items
What still needs address-level confirmation.
- Whether the parcel is inside the incorporated City of Palm Springs or in unincorporated Riverside County.
- Which Organized Neighborhood the address sits in, and that neighborhood's current percentage against the 20% cap, or its wait-list position.
- Whether the home qualifies as a single-family dwelling unit for the purposes of Chapter 5.25.
- Which certificate documents, forms and processing steps are current and applicable to the proposed use.
- Whether a land use permit applies because the home is treated as an estate home.
- What the HOA, condominium, lease, deed and insurance documents permit, in writing.
- Current fees, penalties and processing times, which are published by the authorities and change. This page does not reproduce them.
Applicability
- These summaries describe the shape of the rules and link the official page. They are educational. They are not a determination that a particular property may rent.
- A source check is not legal advice and is not Casago business approval.
- Rules, forms, fees and tax treatment change. The City updates its neighborhood percentage data weekly. Recheck every authority and your own governing documents immediately before launch, renewal or a material listing change.
- Related reading: Palm Springs owner playbook, rules, permits and HOA guide, market pulse, amenity intelligence, Owner Answer Center.
Palm Springs regulation questions
What happens if my neighborhood is already at the cap?
The City states that an application for a property in a neighborhood at 20% or higher vacation-rental-to-residential-household percentage will be returned, and that the applicant may request to be placed on the wait list for that neighborhood. Existing certificates are not affected. If the count later falls below the cap, the City issues certificates on a first in time, first in right basis by the date complete applications were submitted.
Do I have to file anything in a month with no guests?
Yes. The City states that a TOT form must be filed monthly for all vacation rental and homeshare properties, and that a form is still due with a zero balance if there were no guests in the filing period. Failure to file carries a penalty and interest.
What is a Contract Summary and can I catch up later?
A Contract Summary is required for each guest stay of 28 consecutive days or less and is submitted through the operator's online business center. Providing the contract itself is not accepted in its place. The City states that Contract Summaries cannot be submitted retroactively, so the filing has to happen as stays occur. Homeshares are not required to submit one.
My property is outside the city limits. Which rules apply?
Unincorporated Riverside County runs a separate programme under Ordinance 927. Ordinance No. 927.3 was adopted on August 25, 2026 and is effective September 24, 2026, and the renewal grace period has been eliminated, so certificates must be renewed before they expire. The County defines a short-term rental as a stay of less than 30 consecutive calendar days and not less than two consecutive days and one night.
Is any of this a determination that my home can operate?
No. Everything here is a source-linked summary intended to help you ask the right authority the right question. It is not legal advice, not a permit determination and not Casago business approval. Confirm your own address with the City or the County before acting.
Next step
Work the list against your parcel.
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.
Acme House Company is a DBA of Acme CA, Inc., operating as Casago Greater Palm Springs. California DRE #02420145. Michael E. Flannery, Designated Broker.