CanIBnBCalifornia STR Rules
County jurisdiction · checked 2026-09-13

Can you BnB it in unincorporated Alameda County?

The rules, with their sources

Permit or licenseNo permit is required; the code has no short-term rental permit program.L117.08.030, 17.08.040 · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Transfer when the home sellsCode silent on transfer. Unincorporated Alameda County issues no short-term rental permit, so nothing transfers with the property and nothing dies on sale. An operator renting for 30 days or less owes the county hotel and lodging tax under Chapter 2.132, which is an operator level obligation, so a buyer would register in their own name.L1none; Chapter 2.132 Hotel and Lodging Tax governs the tax registration · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Read the code text →

In the county's own words

2.132.050“The tax shall be imposed at the rate of ten percent the cost of the rental of the room or rooms or living space subject to the tax.” source
17.08.030, 17.08.040“The R-1 permitted uses are one one-family dwelling, field crop, orchard, garden, and in Castro Valley only small and large family day cares; no short-term rental, vacation rental, transient lodging, boarding house, rooming house or renting of rooms is listed.” source
Title 3 chapter list“Title 3 Business Licenses and Regulations contains no short-term rental, vacation rental, transient occupancy, home sharing or rental registry chapter; the closest is Chapter 3.20 Hotel and Motel Registration.” source

Citation: Alameda County General Ordinance Code, Title 17 Zoning (no short-term rental chapter), Title 3 Business Licenses and Regulations (no short-term rental chapter), Chapter 2.132 Hotel and Lodging Tax (Ord. 2003-9)

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How this page was verified

Verified from the municipal code (level 1), checked on 2026-09-13 by the CanIBnB research desk. Research is AI assisted and human reviewed; the method, the level system, and the re-check schedule are on the How we verify page. If anything here is wrong, report it and it goes in the public corrections log.