CanIBnBCalifornia STR Rules
Orange County · checked 2026-09-17

Can you BnB it in Costa Mesa?

The rules, with their sources

Permit or licenseNone available: short-term rentals are prohibited, so there is no permit to apply for.L1Ordinance 2021-17 (per official city page) · code text · checked 2026-09-17
Caps and limitsNo numeric cap; the home-sharing exception is a grandfather class closed since December 1, 2020.L1Ordinance 2021-17 (urgency), adopted November 2, 2021, effective immediately (Govt. Code 36934); interim urgency ordinance November 10, 2020; uncodified · code text · checked 2026-09-17
Transfer when the home sellsNo permit scheme exists; the home-sharing exception attaches to the grandfathered natural person and their primary residence (9+ continuous months residency), so it cannot pass to a buyer.L1Ord. 2021-17 sec 3 (Home-sharing, Primary residence definitions) · code text · checked 2026-09-17
Read the code text →

In the city's own words

Ordinance 2021-17 (per official city page)“Ordinance 2021-17, prohibiting all short term rentals (STRs) throughout the City of Costa Mesa, on November 2, 2021.” source
official city page“the rental of a residential dwelling unit (or portion thereof) to paying occupants for less than 30 days” source
official city page“Once a violation has been verified, the City may issue fines up $1,000 a day. In addition, other enforcement options such as criminal charges and or nuisance abatement action may be taken” source
City staff report, File 25-382 (agenda 8-5-2025)“Of the 34 cities in Orange County, the report states that 19 cities have a policy to ban STRs, including Costa Mesa... In fact, Costa Mesa allows "home-sharing," which requires the owner of the residence to be on site during the term of the rental. ... The City of Costa Mesa adopted an interim ordinance on November 10, 2020... A permanent ordinance was adopted on November 2, 2021, with a minor revision to allow for home-sharing.” source

Citation: Ordinance 2021-17 (urgency), adopted November 2, 2021, effective immediately (Govt. Code 36934); interim urgency ordinance November 10, 2020; uncodified

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 2026-09-17 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.