County jurisdiction · checked 2026-09-16
Can you BnB it in unincorporated San Luis Obispo County?
RestrictedUnincorporated San Luis Obispo County allows residential vacation rentals with a zoning clearance, business license, and TOT registration, plus occupancy limits, a local 24 hour property manager, and tenancy frequency limits. Separation rules thin them out by area, from 1,500 feet in Adelaida/Willow Creek to 50 to 500 feet in coastal communities, and in Los Osos the coastal Minor Use Permit is voided when the property changes hands.
The rules, with their sources
Permit or licenseA permit or license is required before operating.L122.30.510(a) · code text · checked 2026-09-16
Hosted onlyThe code does not limit rentals to hosted stays.L1Title 22 (Land Use Ordinance) section 22.30.510, added 2016 by Ord. 3338; Title 23 (Coastal Zone Land Use Ordinance) section 23.08.165; code codified through Ord. 3590, April 21, 2026 · code text · checked 2026-09-16
Primary residenceThe code does not require the rental to be the operator's primary residence.L1Title 22 (Land Use Ordinance) section 22.30.510, added 2016 by Ord. 3338; Title 23 (Coastal Zone Land Use Ordinance) section 23.08.165; code codified through Ord. 3590, April 21, 2026 · code text · checked 2026-09-16
Caps and limitsNo countywide numeric cap found in the sections read. Separation standards act as density caps: no residential vacation rental within 1,500 feet of an existing permitted vacation rental in the Adelaida/Willow Creek area (22.30.510); in the coastal zone, separation within urban reserve lines of 200 linear feet on the same side of the street and 200 linear feet on the opposite side in Cambria, 100 linear feet in Cayucos single/suburban areas, and 50 to 500 feet in Avila Beach and Los Osos per 23.08.165. Tenancy frequency limits: no more than one tenancy per seven calendar days inland (22.30.510) and no more than four individual tenancies per calendar month coastal (23.08.165).L1Title 22 (Land Use Ordinance) section 22.30.510, added 2016 by Ord. 3338; Title 23 (Coastal Zone Land Use Ordinance) section 23.08.165; code codified through Ord. 3590, April 21, 2026 · code text · checked 2026-09-16
Transfer when the home sellsIn the coastal zone at least for Los Osos, the code says a Minor Use Permit for the establishment of a residential vacation rental shall become voided upon the transfer of property ownership, so a buyer must reapply and meet the separation rules at that time. For inland Title 22 rentals under a Zoning Clearance, no transfer sentence was found in the fragments read; whether the clearance survives a sale needs the full 22.30.510 text or county confirmation. No family, trust, or entity exceptions appeared in any fragment.L123.08.165 (Los Osos) · code text · checked 2026-09-16
Read the code text →
In the county's own words
22.30.510(a)“Zoning Clearance, Business License and Transient Occupancy Tax Registration is required for each Residential Vacation Rental.” source
23.08.165“The Residential Vacation Rental is the use of an existing residence, or a new residential structure that has been constructed in conformance with all standards applicable to residential development, as a rental for transient use. This definition does not include the single tenancy rental of the entire residence for periods of thirty consecutive days or longer.” source
22.30.510(b) Adelaida/Willow Creek“No residential vacation rental shall be located within 1,500 feet of an existing permitted vacation rental.” source
23.08.165 (Los Osos)“A Minor Use Permit for the establishment of a residential vacation rental shall become voided upon the transfer of property ownership.” source
Citation: Title 22 (Land Use Ordinance) section 22.30.510, added 2016 by Ord. 3338; Title 23 (Coastal Zone Land Use Ordinance) section 23.08.165; code codified through Ord. 3590, April 21, 2026
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How this page was verified
Verified from the municipal code (level 1), checked on 2026-09-16 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.