Humboldt County · checked 2026-09-13
Can you BnB it in Trinidad?
RestrictedTrinidad licenses short term rentals in three categories and holds the citywide total to no more than 32 Full-time short term rentals at any one time, plus 6 Resident licenses in the UR Zone. A Trinidad STR License is revoked when the holder sells or transfers the property, with narrow exceptions only for spousal survivorship, lifetime transfers between spouses, a trust benefiting only a spouse, and holding entities the seller alone owns while alive.
The rules, with their sources
Permit or licenseA permit or license is required before operating.L1Trinidad Municipal Code Sec. 17.56.190 (certified Zoning Ordinance Sec. 6.26), added by Ordinance 2016-03 and amended by Ordinance 2022-02 adopted March 8, 2022; Sec. 17.56.060 (Sec. 6.06) amended · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Hosted onlyThe code does not limit rentals to hosted stays.L1Trinidad Municipal Code Sec. 17.56.190 (certified Zoning Ordinance Sec. 6.26), added by Ordinance 2016-03 and amended by Ordinance 2022-02 adopted March 8, 2022; Sec. 17.56.060 (Sec. 6.06) amended · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Permit capPermits are capped at 32.L117.56.190.F · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Caps and limitsSec. 17.56.190.F: no new Full-time STR licenses shall be issued if the total would exceed 189 in the UR Zone and or 76 in the SR Zone, with no limit in other zones, except that no more than a total of 32 Full-time STRs shall be allowed within City limits at any one time. An additional 6 Resident STR Licenses shall be allowed in the UR Zone, with no limit in other zones; more Resident STR Licenses may be granted in the UR Zone by the Planning Commission under the Conditional Use Permit findings of Chapter 17.72. The 32 figure is the operative citywide ceiling. A Resident STR is limited to under 60 nights a year in the owner's primary residence; a Homeshare STR is one bedroom in the owner's primary residence with the owner present from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.L117.56.190.F · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Transfer when the home sellsSec. 17.56.190.J: an STR License is issued to a property owner for a single location and shall be revoked when the permit holder sells or transfers the real property, with these exceptions. Sale or transfer means any change of ownership during the lifetime of the license holder or after the death of the permit holder, with or without consideration, except a change where title is held in survivorship with a spouse, a transfer on the owner's death to a trust that benefits only a spouse for the spouse's lifetime, or lifetime transfers between spouses. Where the owner is a trustee, limited liability company, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership or similar entity, sale or transfer means a change in 50 percent or more of the shareholders, members, partners or beneficiaries. A license holder may transfer the real property into such an entity without revocation so long as the transferor lives and remains the only owner of the entity; on the transferor's death or on sale of his or her interest in the entity, the permit is revoked. There is no heir or child exception and no transfer application window.L117.56.190.J · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Read the code text →
In the city's own words
17.56.190.F“In order to preserve community character and an appropriate balance of residential, commercial and visitor-serving uses, no new Full-time STR licenses shall be issued by the City if the total number of Full-time STR Licenses would exceed 189 in the UR Zone and or 76 in the SR Zone, with no limit in other zones, except that no more than a total of 32 Full-time STRs shall be allowed within City limits at any one time.” source
17.56.190.J“An STR License is issued to a property owner for a single location. The STR License shall be revoked when the permit holder sells or transfers the real property which was rented pursuant to the STR License except as provided below.” source
17.56.190.J“If the owner is a trustee, a limited liability company, a corporation, a partnership, a limited partnership, a limited liability partnership, or other similar entity, then 'sale or transfer' shall mean a change in 50% or more of the shareholders or members or partners or beneficiaries.” source
17.56.190.D“the dwelling owned and occupied as the owner's principle place of residence, where the homeowner lives more than 50% of the year.” source
Citation: Trinidad Municipal Code Sec. 17.56.190 (certified Zoning Ordinance Sec. 6.26), added by Ordinance 2016-03 and amended by Ordinance 2022-02 adopted March 8, 2022; Sec. 17.56.060 (Sec. 6.06) amended
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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.