3.20.020(H)“Transient means any person who exercises occupancy or is entitled to occupancy in a hotel by reason of a lease, concession, permit, right of access, license or other agreement for a period of thirty consecutive calendar days or less, counting portions of calendar days as full days.” source
3.20.030“For the privilege of occupancy in any hotel on and after July 1, 1964, each transient is subject to and shall pay a tax in the amount of four percent of the rent charged by the operator.” source
Citation: Chapter 3.20 Transient Occupancy Tax, Sections 3.20.020(H) and 3.20.030 (Ord. 115-NS, 1964). No short-term rental chapter in Title 5 or Title 18.
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.
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.