STR Rulebook
Cities / San Francisco, CA

San Francisco, CA short-term rental rules

Read from official city pages on 2026-10-23

San Francisco allows 90 un-hosted nights a calendar year, and the host has to be present in the unit 275 nights a year to stay a permanent resident. The application fee is $925; violations run $484 a day.

Can you run a short-term rental in San Francisco, CA?
Yes, with a license — only in your primary residence, capped at 90 rental days a year.

1. Can you operate here?

Permit required
Yes[1]
Primary residence
Required — present 275 nights per year[1]
Unit limit
One unit per multi-unit building[1]
Night limits
90 un-hosted nights per calendar year[1]Hosted nights — where the host is in the unit overnight — are not counted against the 90. The host must also be present at least 275 nights a year to remain a permanent resident.
1 of the 10 figures above are not published by the city. Those rows say so instead of carrying an estimate, and the reference still points to the page that was checked. 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
Short-term rental registration (Office of Short-Term Rentals)[1]
Fee — new
$925[1]Application fee, set to recover the cost of running the programme.
Fee — renewal
None stated[1]The FAQ states an application fee but no separate renewal fee.
Term
Not published[1]No license term is stated on the FAQ. Quarterly reports are due in January, April, July and October regardless.

3. What it costs

Occupancy tax
  • Transient occupancy tax[3]14%
  • Tourism Improvement District — Zone 1[3]2.25%
  • Tourism Improvement District — Zone 2[3]2.00%
Combined rate14%, plus 2.00%–2.25% TID by zone
The TID assessment applies only to hosts inside a tourism improvement district, so the total depends on the address; both zone rates are listed as published. The Moscone Expansion District applies to hotels, not hosts. Rent under $60 a day or $149 a week is exempt from TOT. Hosts collect and remit the tax but do not need a Certificate of Authority.
If you operate without one
$484 per day, per residential unit[1]

Other rules that apply

Hosted vs un-hosted

A hosted stay means the host is in the unit overnight. A host doing both must keep separate listings for each.[1]

Platform duty

Platforms must verify a unit is registered before taking or collecting a fee for a booking, and file a monthly affidavit with the Office of Short-Term Rentals.[1]

Exempt stock

Tourist hotels and timeshares are not eligible to register, and rooms licensed as tourist units may be listed under the business account number instead.[1]

Quarterly reporting

Hosts with an approved registration file quarterly reports with the Office of Short-Term Rentals.[1]

Appeal window

If an application is rejected, or a certificate is suspended or revoked, a written appeal may be filed within 30 calendar days of the notice.[1]

Listing must come down

If an application is denied — even where an appeal is pending — or a certificate is suspended or revoked, the host must cancel all pending reservations and remove the online listing.[1]

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. 1San Francisco Office of Short-Term Rentals — FAQprimary
    You must be registered with the City of San Francisco as a business and as a short-term rental.
    The application fee is $925.
    Hosts may only conduct 90 un-hosted short-term rentals per calendar year.
    To be considered the Permanent Resident, you must spend at least 275 nights in a calendar year in the Residential Unit where you host short-term rentals.
    If you own a multi-unit building, you may only offer for short-term rental one Residential Unit in the multi-unit building.
    Those specific rooms may be offered for tourist stays without registering with the Office of Short-Term Rentals.
  2. 2San Francisco Office of Short-Term Rentals — department page (sf.gov)primary
  3. 3San Francisco Treasurer & Tax Collector — Transient Occupancy Taxprimary
    San Francisco imposes a 14% transient occupancy tax on the rental of accommodations for stays of less than 30 days.
    TID rates: TID Zone Rate Zone 1 2.25% Zone 2 2.00%
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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