Santa Barbara County · checked 2026-09-13
Can you BnB it in Carpinteria?
AllowedCarpinteria licenses whole-home vacation rentals only inside a mapped overlay district covering mostly beach neighborhoods, with a hard cap of 218 licenses across four areas, and separately licenses owner-hosted home stays in single-family zones. A vacation rental license is personal to the owner and dies automatically when the property is sold, so a buyer cannot inherit one.
The rules, with their sources
Permit or licenseA permit or license is required before operating.L114.47.030 · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Hosted onlyThe code does not limit rentals to hosted stays.L1CMC Ch 14.47 Vacation Rental Overlay District and Ch 14.52 Home Stays, both Ord. No. 708, Sec 3, 4-24-2017; definition 14.08.627 (Ord. 708) · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Primary residenceThe code does not require the rental to be the operator's primary residence.L1CMC Ch 14.47 Vacation Rental Overlay District and Ch 14.52 Home Stays, both Ord. No. 708, Sec 3, 4-24-2017; definition 14.08.627 (Ord. 708) · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Permit capPermits are capped at 218.L114.47.090(a) · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Caps and limits14.47.090(a): Area A 55 vacation rentals, Area B 115, Area C 30, Area D 18, total 218 licenses, all inside the mapped Vacation Rental Overlay District (mostly beach and coastal neighborhoods). Home stays (hosted) are not capped by number in the code text we read but are limited to 4 guests each.L114.47.090(a) · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Transfer when the home sells14.47.110: the vacation rental license is issued to the owner of record and no license may be assigned, transferred or loaned to any other person. 14.47.120: the license is personal to the applicant/owner and automatically expires upon sale or transfer of the premises or residential unit. No family, trust, entity or grace period exceptions appear in the code text we read. Home stay licenses likewise cannot be assigned, transferred or loaned (14.52.090).L114.47.120 · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Read the code text →
In the city's own words
14.47.030“No person shall rent, offer to rent, or advertise for rent a residential unit...without a license approved and issued in a manner provided for by this chapter.” source
14.47.120“The vacation rental license shall be personal to the applicant/owner and shall automatically expire upon sale or transfer of the premises or residential unit.” source
14.47.110“The vacation rental license issued under this chapter shall be issued to the owner of record of the residential unit and no license may be assigned, transferred or loaned to any other person.” source
14.47.090(a)“Area A: fifty-five vacation rentals; Area B: one hundred fifteen vacation rentals; Area C: thirty vacation rentals; Area D: eighteen vacation rentals.” source
Citation: CMC Ch 14.47 Vacation Rental Overlay District and Ch 14.52 Home Stays, both Ord. No. 708, Sec 3, 4-24-2017; definition 14.08.627 (Ord. 708)
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.