Los Angeles County · checked 2026-09-16
Can you BnB it in Hawthorne?
AllowedHawthorne allows short-term rentals only with a city permit, either as hosted home sharing tied to a primary residence (or a Hawthorne resident's secondary home) or as a vacation rental of a non primary dwelling capped at 90 rental days per calendar year. Permits are not assignable and do not run with the land, so a buyer must qualify for and obtain a new permit after purchase.
The rules, with their sources
Permit or licenseA permit or license is required before operating.L117.24e.020(A) · code text · checked 2026-09-16
Hosted onlyThe code does not limit rentals to hosted stays.L1HMC Ch. 17.24e; Ord. 2198 § 12, 2020; Ord. 2206 §§ 2, 3, 4, 2020; Ord. 2263, 6/23/2026 · code text · checked 2026-09-16
Primary residenceThe code does not require the rental to be the operator's primary residence.L1HMC Ch. 17.24e; Ord. 2198 § 12, 2020; Ord. 2206 §§ 2, 3, 4, 2020; Ord. 2263, 6/23/2026 · code text · checked 2026-09-16
Night capUnhosted rentals are capped at 90 nights per year.L1HMC Ch. 17.24e; Ord. 2198 § 12, 2020; Ord. 2206 §§ 2, 3, 4, 2020; Ord. 2263, 6/23/2026 · code text · checked 2026-09-16
Caps and limitsVacation rentals (non primary residence) are capped at 90 total days per calendar year (17.24e.050). Home sharing requires the host on site at a primary residence, or a secondary residence owned by someone whose primary residence is in Hawthorne; a primary residence requires residing there at least nine months per year (17.24e.010). A citywide cap of 10 secondary home share permits per year sits in 17.24e.040 Maximum units, which we have not re-checked since our first read.L117.24e.050 · code text · checked 2026-09-16
Transfer when the home sellsFull clause read at 17.24e.020(E): the permit shall not be assignable; following a change in ownership a new permit is required before the new owner rents or advertises; and permits do not run with the land. The section text as returned contains no exceptions for family or heir transfers, trusts, entity changes, application windows, or grace periods.L117.24e.020(E) · code text · checked 2026-09-16
Read the code text →
In the city's own words
17.24e.020(A)“An owner shall obtain a short-term rental permit from the City before renting a dwelling unit as a short-term rental or advertising the availability of a short-term rental.” source
17.24e.020(E)“The short-term rental permit shall not be assignable. Following a change in ownership, a new short-term rental permit shall be required before the new owner rents or advertises the unit as a short-term rental. Short-term rental permits do not run with the land.” source
17.24e.050“Vacation rentals are permitted for no more than a total of 90 days during the calendar year.” source
17.24e.010“means an accessory use of a primary residence, while the host lives on-site, or a secondary residence owned by a person(s) whose primary residence is in the City of Hawthorne, for the purposes of providing temporary lodging, for compensation, for periods of 30 consecutive days or less.” source
Citation: HMC Ch. 17.24e; Ord. 2198 § 12, 2020; Ord. 2206 §§ 2, 3, 4, 2020; Ord. 2263, 6/23/2026
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 2026-09-16 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.