Contra Costa County · checked 2026-09-13
Can you BnB it in Hercules?
No STR ordinanceHercules has no short-term rental ordinance, so the code sets no short-term rental permit, cap or zone rule. The only related use in the zoning code is a bed and breakfast inn, which needs a conditional use permit, owner occupancy in residential zones and no more than three guest rooms, and stays of 30 days or less are subject to the 10 percent transient occupancy tax.
The rules, with their sources
Permit or licenseNo permit is required; the code has no short-term rental permit program.L113-35.250 · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Caps and limitsNo short-term rental cap. For the separate bed and breakfast inn use, sec. 13-35.250 limits guest rooms to no more than 3 in a residentially zoned district and no more than 6 in the WC waterfront commercial or HTC historic town center districts.L113-35.250 · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Transfer when the home sellsCode silent on transfer. Hercules has no short-term rental permit or licence, so nothing transfers or lapses on sale. A buyer who rents to transients becomes an operator under Title 8 Chapter 7 and must register in their own name. A bed and breakfast inn runs on a conditional use permit under sec. 13-35.250, which contains no transfer clause but does require the property owner to live on the premises in a residential zone, so an owner change matters in practice for that use.L1none (no short-term rental permit exists); 13-35.250 for bed and breakfast inns (no transfer clause) · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Read the code text →
In the city's own words
8-7.102(d)“Transient means any individual who exercises occupancy or is entitled to occupancy of a specific room or space by reason of concession, permit, right of access, license, or other agreement for a period of thirty (30) consecutive calendar days or less, counting portions of calendar days as full days.” source
13-35.250“Bed and breakfast inns are allowed within residential districts and the HTC historic town center district and WC waterfront commercial subject to approval of a conditional use permit.” source
13-35.250“No more than 3 guest rooms shall be rented for lodging within a residentially zoned district. No more than 6 guest rooms shall be rented for lodging within WC or HTC districts.” source
Citation: Hercules Municipal Code Title 8 Chapter 7 Uniform Transient Occupancy Tax, secs. 8-7.102 and 8-7.201 (Ord. 206 Div. 1, 1985; Ord. 447 sec. 1, 2001); Title 13 Zoning sec. 13-35.250 Bed and Breakfast Inns (Ord. 515 sec. 2, 2018; ZO sec. 35.250); sec. 13-60.200 definitions. No short-term rental ordinance found.
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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.