Orange County · checked 2026-09-13
Can you BnB it in Huntington Beach?
RestrictedHuntington Beach permits hosted short-term rentals citywide at the host's primary residence, while unhosted rentals survive only in Sunset Beach under permits issued by March 1, 2022. Permits are personal, limited to one per person, and do not transfer with the property, so a buyer cannot take over an existing rental.
The rules, with their sources
Permit or licenseA permit or license is required before operating.L15.120.030.A · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Hosted onlyThe code does not limit rentals to hosted stays.L1HBMC Ch. 5.120 (Ord. 4224, 2/2021; Ord. 4238, 12/2021) · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Primary residenceThe rental must be the operator's primary residence.L1HBMC Ch. 5.120 (Ord. 4224, 2/2021; Ord. 4238, 12/2021) · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Caps and limitsNo citywide numeric cap, but one STR permit per person citywide (5.120.030.F.2). Unhosted STRs allowed only in Sunset Beach (Zone 2) under permits existing by 2022-03-01; no new unhosted permits after that date. Hosted STRs must be the host's primary residence.L15.120.040 (Zone 2) · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Transfer when the home sellsA STR permit is personal, may not be transferred or assigned, and does not run with the land (5.120.030.D). No family, heir, trust, entity, or grace period exceptions appear in the chapter. A buyer of a Sunset Beach unhosted STR cannot inherit the permit and cannot get a new unhosted permit after 2022-03-01, so unhosted use ends at sale.L15.120.030.D · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Read the code text →
In the city's own words
5.120.030.A“No person or entity shall advertise, rent, or operate a short-term rental (STR) in the City unless a permit has been issued by the City” source
5.120.040.C“Unhosted STRs are prohibited in the City of Huntington Beach except in Zone 2” source
5.120.030.D“A STR Permit is personal and may not be transferred or assigned and does not run with the land” source
5.120.040 (Zone 2)“After March 1, 2022, no new permits for owner unoccupied residential dwelling units will be issued.” source
Citation: HBMC Ch. 5.120 (Ord. 4224, 2/2021; Ord. 4238, 12/2021)
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.