Humboldt County · checked 2026-09-13
Can you BnB it in Eureka?
RestrictedEureka allows vacation rentals in residential zones with a ministerial vacation rental permit, a business license and a transient occupancy tax certificate, and limits the number of whole house rentals with no proprietor on site to an annual number set by the City Council. A vacation rental permit runs with the land and transfers fully to a buyer as long as the buyer gets a city business license within two months of purchase.
The rules, with their sources
Permit or licenseA permit or license is required before operating.L1155.304.150 · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Hosted onlyThe code does not limit rentals to hosted stays.L1Eureka Municipal Code Sec. 155.304.150 Vacation Rental (Ord. 938-C.S., passed 11-1-22); see also Sec. 155.316.050 Accessory Dwelling Units as Short-Term Rentals · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Primary residenceThe code does not require the rental to be the operator's primary residence.L1Eureka Municipal Code Sec. 155.304.150 Vacation Rental (Ord. 938-C.S., passed 11-1-22); see also Sec. 155.316.050 Accessory Dwelling Units as Short-Term Rentals · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Caps and limitsThe number of vacation rentals with no proprietor on site permitted or licensed each year may not exceed the annual limit set by the City Council, so the cap is a Council resolution number rather than a figure fixed in the code. Vacation rentals with a proprietor on site are treated separately. Accessory dwelling units permitted after January 1, 2020, second homes created in the RE and R1 zones under state law, and units created by urban lot splits may not be vacation rentals.L1155.304.150 · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Transfer when the home sellsApproval of a vacation rental permit shall run with the land and shall be fully transferable to the new property owner, provided the new property owner obtains a business license within two months of the purchase of the property. This is the opposite of the pattern in most north coast jurisdictions. The permit is not open ended: permits lapse on February 1 each year unless the business license is renewed and transient occupancy taxes are current, so a buyer must also keep the annual renewal current.L1155.304.150 · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Read the code text →
In the city's own words
155.304.150“dwelling units, or portions thereof, located in a residential zoning district that are rented to transient patrons for 30 consecutive days or less” source
155.304.150“A vacation rental permit is a ministerial approval by the Department to confirm that a proposed vacation rental complies with all applicable standards” source
155.304.150“The number of vacation rentals with no proprietor on-site permitted/licensed each year may not exceed the annual limit set by the City Council” source
155.304.150“approval of a vacation rental permit shall run with the land and shall be fully transferable to the new property owner, provided the new property owner obtains a business license within two months of the purchase of the property” source
Citation: Eureka Municipal Code Sec. 155.304.150 Vacation Rental (Ord. 938-C.S., passed 11-1-22); see also Sec. 155.316.050 Accessory Dwelling Units as Short-Term Rentals
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.