San Mateo County · checked 2026-09-13
Can you BnB it in Atherton?
No STR ordinanceThe Atherton Municipal Code has no short term rental or vacation rental chapter, no transient occupancy tax chapter, and no zoning definition of transient or short term rental, so the code creates no short term rental permit program. A buyer should still confirm with the town, because the zoning code allows only the uses it lists and an unlisted commercial use of a home can be treated as not permitted.
The rules, with their sources
Permit or licenseNo permit is required; the code has no short-term rental permit program.L1Title 3 chapter list, Title 5 chapter list, Title 17 chapter list and section 17.60.020 Definitions · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Transfer when the home sellsCode silent on transfer. No short term rental permit or license exists in the code, so there is nothing that could transfer or expire on sale.L1Title 3 chapter list, Title 5 chapter list, Title 17 chapter list and section 17.60.020 Definitions · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Read the code text →
In the city's own words
17.60.020“Guest house shall mean a detached accessory building subject to the accessory building regulations and limited occupancy of no more than thirty days per year.” source
Citation: Title 3 chapter list, Title 5 chapter list, Title 17 chapter list and section 17.60.020 Definitions
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.