San Mateo County · checked 2026-09-13
Can you BnB it in Half Moon Bay?
RestrictedHalf Moon Bay allows short-term vacation rentals only if the home is registered with the city and is the operator's primary residence, with exceptions for certain commercial district properties and operations that predate October 2022. One rental per operator and one per parcel are allowed, unhosted stays are capped at 60 nights a year, and the registration does not transfer to a new owner.
The rules, with their sources
Permit or licenseA permit or license is required before operating.L118.06.025(G) · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Hosted onlyThe code does not limit rentals to hosted stays.L1Half Moon Bay Municipal Code Section 18.06.025(G); Ord. 5-00 Section 2(Exh. B)(part), 2000; Ord. C-2014-05 Section 1, 2014; Ord. C-2014-12 Section 1, 2014; Ord. C-2015-04 Section 1(part), 2015; Ord. C-2016-03 Section 4, 2016; Ord. C-2019-03 Section 2(Exh. A)(part), 2019; Ord. C-2023-02 Section 2(Att. A), 2023 · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Primary residenceThe rental must be the operator's primary residence.L118.06.025(G) · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Night capUnhosted rentals are capped at 60 nights per year.L1Half Moon Bay Municipal Code Section 18.06.025(G); Ord. 5-00 Section 2(Exh. B)(part), 2000; Ord. C-2014-05 Section 1, 2014; Ord. C-2014-12 Section 1, 2014; Ord. C-2015-04 Section 1(part), 2015; Ord. C-2016-03 Section 4, 2016; Ord. C-2019-03 Section 2(Exh. A)(part), 2019; Ord. C-2023-02 Section 2(Att. A), 2023 · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Caps and limitsNo aggregate citywide cap on the number of registrations was found in Section 18.06.025(G). The limits are per operator and per property: a maximum of one short-term vacation rental per operator within the city limits; a maximum of one per assessor's parcel number, one per residential condominium dwelling unit, or one per site developed with a duplex or triplex; and in mixed use developments with at least two dwelling units in the commercial-downtown, commercial-general, and commercial-visitor serving districts, no more than one unit may be registered. Unhosted operation is capped at 60 nights per calendar year; hosted operation has no night cap.L118.06.025(G) · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Transfer when the home sellsSection 18.06.025(G)(4) states that registrations are nontransferable to another property or operator. A registration is issued for a one year term to a named operator and may be renewed administratively if the operator remains in good standing, so a buyer of the property cannot take over the seller's registration and must register in their own name and meet the primary residence rule unless an exception applies. The code states no family, heir, trust, or entity exception, and no transfer application window or grace period. Caution: one rendering of the code text we read read 'Registrations are not nontransferable to another property or operator', which appears to be a transcription artifact or a drafting error; both renderings agree on the phrase 'nontransferable to another property or operator'.L118.06.025(G)(4) · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Read the code text →
In the city's own words
18.06.025(G)“No person shall offer any short-term vacation rental unless the short-term vacation rental is registered and found to be in compliance with this chapter.” source
18.06.025(G)“No dwelling unit shall be operated for short-term vacation rental use unless the dwelling is the primary residence of the operator.” source
18.06.025(G)“An unhosted short-term vacation rental shall be operated no more than sixty nights per calendar year.” source
18.06.025(G)“The maximum number of short-term vacation rentals per operator within the city limits is one.” source
Citation: Half Moon Bay Municipal Code Section 18.06.025(G); Ord. 5-00 Section 2(Exh. B)(part), 2000; Ord. C-2014-05 Section 1, 2014; Ord. C-2014-12 Section 1, 2014; Ord. C-2015-04 Section 1(part), 2015; Ord. C-2016-03 Section 4, 2016; Ord. C-2019-03 Section 2(Exh. A)(part), 2019; Ord. C-2023-02 Section 2(Att. A), 2023
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.