County jurisdiction · checked 2026-09-13
Can you BnB it in unincorporated Alpine County?
RestrictedUnincorporated Alpine County requires an annual short-term rental license, caps licenses inside the East Slope overlay district at thirty five, and will not license a property within one hundred feet of another licensed short term rental in the residential neighborhood or residential estate zones. The license is personal to the owner and automatically expires when the property is sold, and a waitlist position is also lost on a change of ownership.
The rules, with their sources
Permit or licenseA permit or license is required before operating.L118.73.110 · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Hosted onlyThe code does not limit rentals to hosted stays.L1Alpine County Code Chapter 18.73, Residential Short-Term Rentals, sections 18.73.010 through 18.73.240; Ord. 723 section 1, 2017; Ord. 740 section 1, 2021; Ord. 756 section 1 (Att. A), 2024 · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Primary residenceThe code does not require the rental to be the operator's primary residence.L1Alpine County Code Chapter 18.73, Residential Short-Term Rentals, sections 18.73.010 through 18.73.240; Ord. 723 section 1, 2017; Ord. 740 section 1, 2021; Ord. 756 section 1 (Att. A), 2024 · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Caps and limitsSection 18.73.130(A) caps licensed short term rentals inside the East Slope short-term rental overlay district at thirty five. There is no countywide numeric cap. Section 18.73.130 also requires that the property not be within one hundred feet, measured property boundary to property boundary, of another licensed short term rental in the residential neighborhood or residential estate zoning district. Section 18.73.140 creates a county maintained waitlist for applicants turned down because of the East Slope limit or the one hundred foot buffer; a waitlisted applicant has thirty days to complete an application when contacted, and a waitlist position is forfeited on a change of ownership.L118.73.130 · code text · checked 2026-09-13
SpacingA separation of 100 feet applies between rentals.L118.73.130 · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Transfer when the home sellsThe license does not transfer. Section 18.73.170, License issuance and nontransferability, says no license may be assigned, transferred or loaned to any other person, entity, location or establishment. Section 18.73.180, Term of license and expiration, says the short-term rental license shall be personal to the applicant or owner and shall automatically expire upon sale or transfer of the premises or residential unit. No exception is given for family, heirs, spouses, trusts, entities or same owner reorganizations. A position on the Section 18.73.140 waitlist is also forfeited on a change of ownership. A buyer therefore starts over, and inside the East Slope overlay district that means competing against the thirty five license cap and the one hundred foot separation rule. The only grandfathering in the chapter is narrow: Section 18.73.130(B) exempted properties registered before March 17, 2020 from the one hundred foot separation if they applied before July 1, 2021.L118.73.170 · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Read the code text →
In the county's own words
18.73.110“No person shall rent, offer to rent, or advertise for rent a residential unit to another person or persons for a short-term rental without a license approved and issued in a manner provided for by this chapter.” source
18.73.020“the use of a dwelling unit by any person or persons for the purpose of providing overnight lodging in exchange for payment for a period of less than thirty consecutive days.” source
18.73.170“no license may be assigned, transferred or loaned to any other person, entity, location or establishment.” source
18.73.180“The short-term rental license shall be personal to the applicant/owner and shall automatically expire upon sale or transfer of the premises or residential unit” source
Citation: Alpine County Code Chapter 18.73, Residential Short-Term Rentals, sections 18.73.010 through 18.73.240; Ord. 723 section 1, 2017; Ord. 740 section 1, 2021; Ord. 756 section 1 (Att. A), 2024
Check a specific address
The checker resolves any California address to its jurisdiction and returns these rules with their verification level. Where a county or city publishes a licensed-rental registry or parcel map (Riverside County, San Diego, Palm Springs, and a growing list), it also runs parcel spacing, permit cap, and registry checks.
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.