Santa Barbara County · checked 2026-09-13
Can you BnB it in Solvang?
RestrictedSolvang now runs a short-term rental permit program capped at 40 permits citywide, and new rentals are allowed only in the Village Mixed-Use District. Permits do not transfer with a sale: inside VMU a buyer must apply for a new permit within 60 days, and outside VMU a buyer cannot get one at all, so a grandfathered rental ends when the property sells.
The rules, with their sources
Permit or licenseA permit or license is required before operating.L111-12-20(G)(1) · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Hosted onlyThe code does not limit rentals to hosted stays.L1Sec 11-12-20 Short-Term Rentals, Ordinance 26-0390 (3/9/2026), which repealed Ordinance 24-0378 (12/9/2024); definitions 11-3-1 amended by Ord. 24-0378 and Ord. 26-0393 (4/13/2026) · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Primary residenceThe code does not require the rental to be the operator's primary residence.L1Sec 11-12-20 Short-Term Rentals, Ordinance 26-0390 (3/9/2026), which repealed Ordinance 24-0378 (12/9/2024); definitions 11-3-1 amended by Ord. 24-0378 and Ord. 26-0393 (4/13/2026) · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Permit capPermits are capped at 40.L111-12-20(F) · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Caps and limitsCitywide maximum of 40 short-term rental permits (11-12-20(F)); applications beyond 40 go on a first-come, first-served waiting list (F.2). Outside the VMU District only grandfathered permits that predate the section survive, and only while ownership is unchanged.L111-12-20(F) · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Transfer when the home sellsThe permit is non-transferable to another unit, person or owner (11-12-20(G)(5)). On a change of ownership the new owner must submit a NEW permit application within 60 days of transfer; that path exists only inside the VMU District. A new owner of a property OUTSIDE the VMU District is expressly ineligible to apply, so grandfathered non-VMU rentals die on sale. No family, heir, trust or entity exceptions appear in the code text we read.L111-12-20(G)(5) · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Read the code text →
In the city's own words
11-12-20(G)(1)“No person shall rent, offer to rent, or advertise for rent a residential dwelling to another person or group for a short-term rental without a short-term rental permit” source
11-12-20(F)“The maximum number of short-term rental permits issued by the City shall be forty (40) permits” source
11-12-20(G)(5)“If a property with a short-term rental permit changes ownership, the new property owner shall submit a new short-term rental permit application...within 60 days of transfer of ownership. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a new owner of a property outside of the Village Mixed-Use District with a short-term rental permit shall not be eligible to apply for a new short-term rental permit.” source
11-12-20(D)(1)“The operation of short-term rentals shall be permitted only in the Village Mixed-Use (VMU), District” source
Citation: Sec 11-12-20 Short-Term Rentals, Ordinance 26-0390 (3/9/2026), which repealed Ordinance 24-0378 (12/9/2024); definitions 11-3-1 amended by Ord. 24-0378 and Ord. 26-0393 (4/13/2026)
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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.