San Bernardino County · checked 2026-09-13
Can you BnB it in Big Bear Lake?
RestrictedBig Bear Lake requires an annual city vacation rental license for each property, limits owners to two licenses, and restricts which zones and property types qualify. The license expires when the property is sold, except for transfers between family members, spouses, or into personal or family trusts.
The rules, with their sources
Permit or licenseA permit or license is required before operating.L14.01.030(A) · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Hosted onlyThe code does not limit rentals to hosted stays.L1Chapter 4.01 Vacation Rentals; Ord. No. 2023-518, sec. 3, 12-19-2023; eligibility table amended by Ord. No. 2025-524, sec. 3, 12-10-2025. · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Primary residenceThe code does not require the rental to be the operator's primary residence.L1Chapter 4.01 Vacation Rentals; Ord. No. 2023-518, sec. 3, 12-19-2023; eligibility table amended by Ord. No. 2025-524, sec. 3, 12-10-2025. · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Caps and limitsNo citywide numeric cap found in Chapter 4.01. Per-owner cap: an owner may hold a maximum of two licenses, with grandfathering for owners holding more than two as of September 16, 2021 (4.01.030, as the code text reads). Eligibility table 4.01.110 limits which property types qualify in each zone.L1Chapter 4.01 Vacation Rentals; Ord. No. 2023-518, sec. 3, 12-19-2023; eligibility table amended by Ord. No. 2025-524, sec. 3, 12-10-2025. · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Transfer when the home sellsUpon a change of ownership the license expires automatically and the property cannot operate until the new owner is licensed (4.01.030(C), paraphrased from the code text). Exception: a change of ownership between family members or among spouses, and transfers to personal or family trusts, do not expire the license. Family members include spouses, biological, step or adopted children, parents, step parents or in-law parents, brothers/sisters, grandparents, grandchildren, uncles, aunts, nephews or nieces. The transferring owner must notify the city in writing within 15 business days of the change (4.01.030(D)).L14.01.030(C) · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Read the code text →
In the city's own words
4.01.030(A)“A current, valid and active annual license issued by the city to the owner is required for each property prior to advertising, offering to lease, or leasing the property as a vacation-rental property.” source
4.01.030(C)“a change of vacation-rental ownership between family members or among spouses [...] shall not result in expiration of a license.” source
4.01.020“a residential dwelling unit, or any portion thereof, that is leased for a term of twenty-eight (28) or fewer consecutive days.” source
4.01.060“Such occupancy shall not exceed two adults per bedroom, plus two additional adults, not including persons under eighteen (18) years of age; but the total number of persons, including persons under eighteen (18) years of age, may not exceed one person per two hundred (200) square feet of living space or sixteen (16) persons, whichever is less.” source
Citation: Chapter 4.01 Vacation Rentals; Ord. No. 2023-518, sec. 3, 12-19-2023; eligibility table amended by Ord. No. 2025-524, sec. 3, 12-10-2025.
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.