County jurisdiction · checked 2026-09-13
Can you BnB it in unincorporated Sonoma County?
AllowedVacation rentals are allowed in unincorporated Sonoma County with a zoning permit and an annual county license, managed by a certified property manager. The permit ends automatically when the parcel is sold, and some mapped X district areas exclude new rentals or cap them at 5 or 10 percent of single-family homes.
The rules, with their sources
Permit or licenseA permit or license is required before operating.L14-205 · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Hosted onlyThe code does not limit rentals to hosted stays.L1Ch. 26 Sec. 26-28-160 (Ord. No. 6386, § V(Exh. A), 8-2-2022); Ch. 26 Art. 79 Secs. 26-79-005 to 26-79-020 (Ord. No. 6386, § VI(Exh. B), 8-2-2022); Ch. 4 Art. VIII Secs. 4-200 to 4-210 (Ord. No. 6427, § III(Exh. A), 5-16-2023) · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Primary residenceThe code does not require the rental to be the operator's primary residence.L1Ch. 26 Sec. 26-28-160 (Ord. No. 6386, § V(Exh. A), 8-2-2022); Ch. 26 Art. 79 Secs. 26-79-005 to 26-79-020 (Ord. No. 6386, § VI(Exh. B), 8-2-2022); Ch. 4 Art. VIII Secs. 4-200 to 4-210 (Ord. No. 6427, § III(Exh. A), 5-16-2023) · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Caps and limitsNo citywide numeric cap. The X Vacation Rental Exclusion and Cap Combining District (Ch. 26 Art. 79) may be applied to specific areas to exclude new vacation rentals (26-79-010) or cap them at five percent or ten percent of the single-family dwellings within the district boundaries (26-79-020). One vacation rental per parcel (26-28-160).L126-79-010 · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Transfer when the home sellsThe zoning permit does not survive a sale. Verified verbatim: A vacation rental permit automatically expires upon sale or transfer of the parcel (26-28-160). No exceptions for family, heirs, trusts, or entity transfers appear in the section text retrieved. The separate license expires one year from issuance and is renewed annually (4-205 area).L126-28-160 · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Read the code text →
In the county's own words
26-28-160“Vacation rental means the tenancy of residential property for a term of thirty (30) days or less that is subject to transient occupancy tax.” source
26-28-160“A vacation rental permit automatically expires upon sale or transfer of the parcel.” source
26-79-010“The X district may be applied to exclude new vacation rentals.” source
26-79-020“The X district may be applied to cap vacation rentals at five percent (5%) or ten percent (10%) of the single-family dwellings” source
Citation: Ch. 26 Sec. 26-28-160 (Ord. No. 6386, § V(Exh. A), 8-2-2022); Ch. 26 Art. 79 Secs. 26-79-005 to 26-79-020 (Ord. No. 6386, § VI(Exh. B), 8-2-2022); Ch. 4 Art. VIII Secs. 4-200 to 4-210 (Ord. No. 6427, § III(Exh. A), 5-16-2023)
Check a specific address
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.
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.