STR Rulebook
Cities / Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles, CA short-term rental rules

Read from official city pages on 2026-10-24

Los Angeles frames the whole arrangement as home-sharing: the rental must be the host's primary residence, where they live more than six months a year. Registration costs $89 and runs one year, with 120 rental days before the extended tier applies.

Can you run a short-term rental in Los Angeles, CA?
Yes, with a license — only in your primary residence, capped at 120 rental days a year, with limits on how much you can rent.

1. Can you operate here?

Permit required
Yes[1]Called home-sharing registration, issued by the City Planning Department. The registration number must appear on every listing.
Primary residence
Required — host lives there more than 6 months a year[1]If the property has multiple units, the primary residence is the specific unit the host lives in. Proof is checked at registration and renewal.
Unit limit
One booking at a time; multiple listings allowed[1]
Night limits
120 days per calendar year (extended tier beyond)[2]The 120-day cap counts rental days regardless of whether the host is present — the City does not differentiate hosted from unhosted stays. Beyond 120 days requires Extended Home-Sharing approval.
All 10 figures above are published by the city and linked to the page that states them. These are the figures the city publishes — not a determination that a particular property may operate. Zoning, building occupancy class, lease terms and HOA rules sit outside this page and can bar a rental that otherwise holds a license.

2. What the license takes

License
Home-Sharing registration (Extended Home-Sharing beyond 120 days)[1]
Fee — new
$89[1]Extended home-sharing adds $850, or $5,660 where discretionary review applies.
Fee — renewal
$89[1]Renewal is annual; Planning recommends filing at least 30 days before expiry.
Term
1 year, renewed annually; not transferable[1]

3. What it costs

Occupancy tax
  • Transient occupancy tax[5]14%
Combined rate14%
TOT is remitted monthly, due on the 25th of the following month. A host who lists exclusively on a platform with a City Platform Agreement (Airbnb has one) is covered by that agreement instead of registering individually; either way the tax applies. A Transient Occupancy Tax Registration Certificate is required within 30 days of commencing business.
If you operate without one
$500/day for illegal advertising; $2,000/day beyond the 120-day cap[2]Both fines are the greater of the stated amount or two times the nightly rate charged.

Other rules that apply

No host-presence requirement

The City does not differentiate hosted from unhosted stays — a host may rent the entire home while away, as long as it is their primary residence.[1]

Housing excluded by ordinance

No home sharing in RSO units (most multi-family built before October 1978), affordable housing with legal restrictions, or Ellis-acted units.[3]

Extended tier eligibility

Beyond 120 days requires a registration held at least six months or 60 hosted days, plus mailed notice to adjacent owners.[1]

Platform cutoff

Platforms may not complete a booking once a host exceeds the 120-day limit without extended approval.[2]

TOT registration deadline

A Transient Occupancy Tax Registration Certificate is required within 30 days of commencing business, unless listing exclusively through a platform with a City agreement.[4]

Compare this city with the others: can you operate · occupancy tax · license cost.

Sources, and the wording behind the key figures

Each bracketed number above points to the entry below. Where a sentence is quoted it is the city's own wording — the exact text the figure was read from. Figures whose sentence is not reproduced here still carry a bracketed reference — follow it to the source page for the exact wording.

  1. 1LA City Planning — Home-Sharing Ordinance FAQprimary
    Hosts who wish to engage in short-term rentals [must] register with the City Planning Department and post their registration number on all advertisements.
    The fee for a home-sharing registration or renewal is $89. There is an additional fee for review of extended home-sharing applications of $850. For extended home-sharing applications that require further discretionary review, the application fee is $5,660.
    A primary residence is defined as the home where the host resides for more than six months of the year.
    A home-sharing or extended home-sharing registration is good for one year and must be renewed annually. It cannot be transferred or assigned.
    Hosts may maintain several listings at the same property; however, only one listing may be booked at a time.
    To participate in home-sharing beyond 120 days a year (called extended home-sharing), hosts must meet the following additional criteria
  2. 2LA City Planning — Home-Sharing Ordinance (CF 14-1635-S2, Ord. 185931)primary
    No Host shall engage in Home-Sharing for more than 120 days in any calendar year unless the City has issued the Host an Extended Home-Sharing registration
  3. 3LA Housing Department — Home Sharing Ordinanceprimary
  4. 4LA Office of Finance — Sharing Economyprimary
  5. 5LA Office of Finance — Home-Based Transient Occupancy Tax Requirementsprimary
    The current TOT tax rate in the City of Los Angeles is 14% and is applicable to all properties rented to transients.
If a figure above differs from the page it cites, the official page is correct and this page is out of date. Report it to [email protected].

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