County jurisdiction · checked 2026-09-13
Can you BnB it in unincorporated Madera County?
No STR ordinanceMadera County's codified zoning has no short-term rental permit and no ban, so today an owner in the unincorporated county registers for a transient occupancy tax certificate and pays nine percent tax plus a tourism assessment. A short term vacation rental ordinance that would require a non-transferable permit has been drafted and heard but was not in the code when this was checked.
Proposed, not in effect: A short term vacation rental ordinance has been drafted through several revisions and would require a non-transferable short-term vacation rental permit in addition to a business license and a transient occupancy tax certificate, with operational standards covering occupancy limits, on-site parking, noise restrictions, trash management and fire safety compliance. The Planning Commission heard it on April 29, 2026 and a Board of Supervisors hearing was posted for August 18, 2026. The county page did not show an adoption or effective date when read on September 13, 2026, so adoption is not confirmed either way. (council date 2026-08-18)
source. This page states adopted law only; a pending change is never written as current law.
The rules, with their sources
Permit or licenseNo permit is required; the code has no short-term rental permit program.L1Madera County Code Title 18 Zoning, Chapter 18.04 Definitions, sections 18.04.082, 18.04.083 (Ord. 525-B Sec. 2, 1992) and 18.04.193; Title 3 Chapter 3.20 Uniform Transient Occupancy Tax; Title 3 Chapter 3.90 Madera County Tourism Business Improvement District · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Transfer when the home sellsCode silent on transfer. No codified short-term rental permit exists, so nothing transfers today. The drafted ordinance would create a non-transferable short-term vacation rental permit, which would change this answer if and when it is adopted; that language is recorded in the pending field, not here.L1Madera County Code Title 18 Zoning, Chapter 18.04 Definitions, sections 18.04.082, 18.04.083 (Ord. 525-B Sec. 2, 1992) and 18.04.193; Title 3 Chapter 3.20 Uniform Transient Occupancy Tax; Title 3 Chapter 3.90 Madera County Tourism Business Improvement District · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Read the code text →
In the county's own words
18.04.083“"Bed and breakfast establishment, single family residential areas" means a residential building in which lodging, with or without meals, is offered for compensation.” source
18.04.083“The owner shall reside on-site.” source
Citation: Madera County Code Title 18 Zoning, Chapter 18.04 Definitions, sections 18.04.082, 18.04.083 (Ord. 525-B Sec. 2, 1992) and 18.04.193; Title 3 Chapter 3.20 Uniform Transient Occupancy Tax; Title 3 Chapter 3.90 Madera County Tourism Business Improvement District
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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.