San Diego County · checked 2026-09-13
Can you BnB it in San Diego?
RestrictedSan Diego requires a Short-Term Residential Occupancy license for any rental under one month, with four tiers. Whole home licenses are capped citywide and in Mission Beach, are issued by lottery when demand exceeds supply, and never transfer to a buyer.
The rules, with their sources
Permit or licenseA permit or license is required before operating.L1510.0103 · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Hosted onlyThe code does not limit rentals to hosted stays.L1SDMC Chapter 5, Article 10 (510.0101 to 510.0109); added by O-21305 N.S. adopted 4-14-2021, effective 5-29-2021; amended by O-21464 N.S. adopted 6-27-2022, effective 8-10-2022. · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Primary residenceThe code does not require the rental to be the operator's primary residence.L1SDMC Chapter 5, Article 10 (510.0101 to 510.0109); added by O-21305 N.S. adopted 4-14-2021, effective 5-29-2021; amended by O-21464 N.S. adopted 6-27-2022, effective 8-10-2022. · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Caps and limitsTier 3 (whole home outside Mission Beach) licenses are capped at 1 percent of total city housing units excluding Mission Beach (510.0104(d)(4)). Tier 4 (whole home in Mission Beach) capped at 30 percent of Mission Beach housing units (510.0104(e)(4)). As of 2026-09-11 the city reported 4,862 Tier 3 licenses issued with 799 remaining and 1,099 Tier 4 with 0 remaining and a waitlist. One license per host and one dwelling unit per host (510.0104(a)(2) and (a)(3)). Tier 2 home share requires the host to occupy the primary residence at least 275 days per year (510.0104(c)(3)).L1510.0104(d)(4) · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Transfer when the home sellsLicenses are not transferrable and the city will not accept any request to transfer or assign ownership or location of a license or application (510.0106(e)). No family, heir, trust, or entity exceptions in the code. A buyer must apply for a new license and, for Tier 3 or 4, may face the lottery or waitlist.L1510.0106(e) · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Read the code text →
In the city's own words
510.0103“It is unlawful for any person to use a dwelling unit for short-term residential occupancy except as provided in this Article.” source
510.0102“the occupancy of a dwelling unit or part thereof for less than one month” source
510.0104(d)(4)“not exceed 1 percent of the total housing units in the City of San Diego, excluding the total housing units within the Mission Beach Community Planning Area” source
510.0104(e)(4)“not exceed 30 percent of the total housing units in the Mission Beach Community Planning Area” source
Citation: SDMC Chapter 5, Article 10 (510.0101 to 510.0109); added by O-21305 N.S. adopted 4-14-2021, effective 5-29-2021; amended by O-21464 N.S. adopted 6-27-2022, effective 8-10-2022.
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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.