San Mateo County · checked 2026-09-13
Can you BnB it in San Bruno?
RestrictedSan Bruno allows short-term residential rentals of less than thirty consecutive days only with a short-term residential rental zoning permit and a business licence, with hosted rentals limited to three bedrooms at a time and whole home non-hosted rentals limited to 120 calendar days a year. The zoning permit is not transferable, so a buyer must apply for a new one rather than take over the seller's.
The rules, with their sources
Permit or licenseA permit or license is required before operating.L1chapter 12.270 · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Hosted onlyThe code does not limit rentals to hosted stays.L1San Bruno Municipal Code chapter 12.270, short-term residential rentals (Ord. 1884 section 3, 2020; Ord. 1947, 4/9/2024) · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Primary residenceThe rental must be the operator's primary residence.L1San Bruno Municipal Code chapter 12.270, short-term residential rentals (Ord. 1884 section 3, 2020; Ord. 1947, 4/9/2024) · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Night capUnhosted rentals are capped at 120 nights per year.L1San Bruno Municipal Code chapter 12.270, short-term residential rentals (Ord. 1884 section 3, 2020; Ord. 1947, 4/9/2024) · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Caps and limitsHosted units, where the owner occupies the unit, have no annual day limit but no more than three individual bedrooms may be rented at any given time. Non-hosted units, meaning the entire dwelling unit, are limited to no more than 120 calendar days per calendar year. An accessory dwelling unit legally permitted before September 25, 2020, whose primary dwelling is owner occupied, is also limited to 120 calendar days per calendar year; an accessory dwelling unit created after that date may only be rented for stays of thirty or more consecutive days. No cap on the total number of permits appears in chapter 12.270.L1chapter 12.270, non-hosted units · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Transfer when the home sellsChapter 12.270 states that a short-term residential rental zoning permit is not transferable. No family, heir, spouse, trust, entity or LLC membership exception appears in the chapter, no transfer application window is given, and the chapter does not say the permit runs with the land. The permit is renewed every two years and the business licence annually, per the city program page. A buyer must apply for their own zoning permit and business licence.L1chapter 12.270 · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Read the code text →
In the city's own words
chapter 12.270“A valid short-term residential rental zoning permit is required at all times for the operation of a short-term residential rental use.” source
chapter 12.270“A short-term residential rental zoning permit is not transferable.” source
chapter 12.270“The transient occupancy use of entire dwelling unit or a portion of a dwelling unit to a guest for a rental period of less than thirty consecutive calendar days.” source
chapter 12.270, non-hosted units“no more than 120 calendar days per calendar year” source
Citation: San Bruno Municipal Code chapter 12.270, short-term residential rentals (Ord. 1884 section 3, 2020; Ord. 1947, 4/9/2024)
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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.