Lake County · checked 2026-09-13
Can you BnB it in Clearlake?
RestrictedClearlake allows vacation rentals in residential and mixed use zones only with a vacation rental permit issued as a zoning permit, and only if the owner occupies the dwelling at least fifty-one percent of the year, with a 24 hour property manager within thirty miles. The permit automatically expires when the property is sold or transferred, with no family or trust exception, so a buyer must apply fresh and must meet the owner occupancy rule.
The rules, with their sources
Permit or licenseA permit or license is required before operating.L118-19.280 · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Hosted onlyThe code does not limit rentals to hosted stays.L1Clearlake Municipal Code Sec. 18-19.280 Vacation Rentals (Ord. No. 271-2025, Sec. 2 (Exh. A)); code current through Ordinance 286-2026, April 2, 2026 · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Primary residenceThe rental must be the operator's primary residence.L118-19.280 · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Caps and limitsNo citywide numeric cap on the number of vacation rentals was found. Size limits instead: a maximum of five guest rooms, extendable to fifteen with use permit approval. Maximum overnight occupancy is two persons per sleeping or guest room plus two additional persons per property, up to twelve persons, excluding children under three. Daytime visitors are limited to the maximum overnight occupancy plus six additional persons, or eighteen total, whichever is less.L1Clearlake Municipal Code Sec. 18-19.280 Vacation Rentals (Ord. No. 271-2025, Sec. 2 (Exh. A)); code current through Ordinance 286-2026, April 2, 2026 · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Transfer when the home sellsSec. 18-19.280: zoning permits shall run with the landowner and shall automatically expire upon sale or transfer of the property. No exception appears for family members, heirs, spouses, trusts, entity or LLC membership changes, and no transfer application window or grace period is provided. A buyer must apply for a new vacation rental permit and must satisfy the owner occupancy requirement of occupying the dwelling at least fifty-one percent of the year. Operating without a permit carries a penalty of ten times the application fee.L118-19.280 · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Read the code text →
In the city's own words
18-19.280“Vacation rentals that meet the standards outlined in this section shall be allowed as provided by the underlying zone, subject to issuance of a vacation rental permit through a zoning permit by the Director” source
18-19.280“Zoning permits shall run with the landowner and shall automatically expire upon sale or transfer of the property.” source
18-19.280“All vacation rentals shall be owner occupied which means that the owner of the vacation rental unit shall occupy the rental dwelling unit at least fifty-one (51%) percent of the time during the year.” source
18-19.280“A dwelling/room that is rented or leased for compensation for less than 30 consecutive days.” source
Citation: Clearlake Municipal Code Sec. 18-19.280 Vacation Rentals (Ord. No. 271-2025, Sec. 2 (Exh. A)); code current through Ordinance 286-2026, April 2, 2026
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.