A short-term residential rental is a rental of all or a portion of your home for periods of less than 30 nights.

Yes. San Rafael allows short-term rentals but they must be registered with the Short-Term Rental program and hosts must collect and remit transient occupancy taxes.

A property must meet the following four criteria to be eligible for short-term rental use:

• • All or a portion of the Residential Unit is offered for Tourist or Transient Use by the Permanent Resident of the Residential Unit
  • the Residential Unit is the Primary Residence of the Permanent Resident
  • the Permanent Resident is a natural person (A natural person refers to the legal definition of a person that is an individual human being as opposed to a private business entity or public organization)
  • the Permanent Resident has registered the Residential Unit and maintains good standing with the City of San Rafael

To file a complaint regarding a Short-Term Rental in San Rafael:

• Call our 24/7 Complaint Hotline at: (415) 521-3556
• Submit a compliant online: Short-Term Rental Complaint Online Form 

For other questions, please  contact Hector Carlos at Hector.Carlos@cityofsanrafael.org or at 415.458.5337.

The following properties cannot be used as a short-term rental:

• • Income-restricted affordable housing, including Below-Market-Rate (BMR) units and public housing
  • Student housing, dormitories and Single-Room-Occupancy (SRO) buildings
  • Commercial or industrial zoned lots
  • Non-residential areas within buildings, such as storage areas, and living/sleeping quarters added in garages
  • Recreation Vehicles (RVs), including non-motorized Travel Trailers
  • Boats/House Boats
  • Teepees, Yurts, Tents, and Treehouses
  • Sleeping Quarters in Vans or Cars

Rentalscape is our new provider as of December 1, 2022. Please follow the link at top of page to start your registration.

Yes, there is a $170 registration fee the first time you register your short-term rental. If you are renewing your registration the fee is $135.

The City allows for Accessory Structures (ex. Accessory Dwelling Units, Junior Dwelling Units, and Accessory Structures less than 120 square feet) to be used as Short-Term Rentals. These units must still meet the primary residency requirements.

However, You cannot offer an entire single home or residential unit and the accessory structure at the same time. You would have to choose between renting the accessory structures or the main home. However, If you chose to rent out a portion or a room in the main house—rather than the entire main home—you would be allowed to rent out the accessory structure.

Yes, only the “Permanent Resident” can offer their home as a short-term rental and the home must be their “Primary Residence”

A “Primary Resident” is a person who occupies a Residential Unit for at least 60 consecutive days with intent to establish that unit as his or her primary residence. A Permanent Resident may be an owner or a lessee.

A “Primary Residence” means the Permanent Resident’s usual place of return for housing.

To prove your Short-Term Rental is your “Primary Residence,” you must provide three of the following five documents when you register:

• Motor vehicle registration;
• Driver’s license;
• Voter registration;
• Tax documents showing the Residential Unit as the Permanent Resident’s residence for the purposes of a home owner’s tax exemption;
• A utility bill.

The City allows  two individuals per bedroom plus two additional individuals if the rental provides additional living space. For instance, a studio could accommodate two individuals and a one-bedroom apartment could accommodate four individuals.

The City also requires that rentals provide enough off-street parking to meet the number who can stay in the short-term rental.  In no instance can a short-term rental’s occupancy be greater than the number of vehicles the property could accommodate through the designated off-street parking requirements.

Yes, one designated off-street parking space must be provided for every four guests.

For properties with multiple residential units used as short-term rentals, each rental listing must have its own designated off-street parking.

Yes, Short-term Rentals are allowed on properties vehicle access is shared between neighbors. If you live on a property like this you must provide a “Parking Plan” when you register your property to be used as a short-term rental.

A “Parking Plan”  must document how the  Short-Term Rental will avoid encumbering parking.  Documentation may include:

• Existing variances;
• Shared maneuvering diagrams or conditions;
• Signage identifying designated off-street parking spaces;
• Agreements indicating designated off-street parking spaces.

The “Parking Plan” must also include instructions to be provided to guests of the Short-Term Rental outlining the location of designated off-street parking spaces and instructions for maintaining clear access to shared maneuvering areas. The City will consider blocked access to shared maneuvering areas or guest parking outside of designated off-street parking spaces to be Program violations.

Short-term Rentals on properties in a Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) must show proof of a vegetation inspection as part of their registration. For 2020, property owners will be able to conduct a self-certified vegetation inspection, by completed a Vegetation Inspection Checklist and submitting photos of the front, back, and sides of the property.

It is important to clarify, the City expects property owners to maintain their vegetation and landscaping throughout the year due to the risk of wildfire. For example, having clear gutters at the time a registration is submitted  does not exclude you from maintaining them. At any point the Fire Department may conduct drive by inspections and/or schedule inspections with property owners to confirm the information they have submitted.

To find out if your property is in a WUI visit this webpage: Wildlland-Urban Interface Map

For information on vegetation inspections visit this webpage: Vegetation Management

For information in protecting your home from wildfire visit this webpage: Defensible Space

Yes, the City requires hosts collect and remit Transient Occupancy Taxes (TOT) for all short-term rentals. TOT is 12% (10% City, 2% for MCBIDTA).

Airbnb will directly remit the taxes to the city. All other rental site (i.e. VRBO or Turn key ) you will have to remit the tax payment yourself.   There is a tab that states Pay TOT.

Any hosts who have received three or more upheld citation violations of the program rules in a two year period, they will immediately lose the short-term rental registration.

• Policy Resolution 14737- Short-Term Rental Program Policies and Procedures 
• Ordinance 1976- ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL  AMENDING SECTION 14.03.030 AND SECTION 3.20.020 OF THE SAN  RAFAEL MUNICIPAL CODE, AND ADDING NEW CHAPTER 10.110 ENTITLED  “SHORT-TERM RENTAL PROGRAM”
• Overview of leading regulatory and enforcement approaches used by local governments to achieve common short-term rental related policy objectives
• Short-Term Rentals in San Rafael

November 4^th & 18^th City Council Meeting

As follow-up to an informational report presented to the San Rafael City Council on August 5, 2019, a draft ordinance and policy resolution have been prepared addressing short-term rentals.  Specifically, the ordinance and policy resolution propose to establish regulations for permitting, administering, enforcing, and taxing short-term rentals.

At the November 4^th and 18^Th meetings, City Council unanimously approved the creation of the Short Term Rental Program.

August 5th City Council Meeting Recap: 

Staff returned to City Council on Monday, August 5^th City Council Meeting.  After public feedback and City Council discussion, staff was directed to return with a draft ordinance for City Council consideration that creates a Short-Term Rental program with the minimal and moderate enforcement recommendations included in the August 5th, 2019 Staff Report. City Council also directed staff to consider the following additional elements to be included in the draft ordinance:

• Potential regulations for short-term rentals on properties with shared driveways;
• Regulations allowing travel trailers under certain specific conditions like those shown in the staff report;
• Regulations aimed at restricting “party houses”;
• Program guidelines outlining a three-strike system or other system to address so that problem locations could lose their right to act as a STR.

May Community Meetings:

From March 22^nd to April 22^nd, over 400 residents took our online survey on their experience and opinions with Short-Term Rentals. Two public meetings were held to review the results of the recent community survey and to get feedback. These meetings were held:

• May 29^th, 2019 from 7:00pm-9:00pm at the Loch Lomond Yacht Club- 95 Loch Lomond Drive, San Rafael, CA 94901
• May 30^th, 2019 from 7:30pm-9:00pm at the San Rafael Community Center- 618 B Street, San Rafael, CA 94901

Unable to attend? Download the presentation here: Short Term Rental Community Survey Findings

February 19th City Council Meeting Recap:

An informational report on Short Term Rental policy options was presented at the Tuesday, February 19th City Council Meeting. At this meeting, Council requested that Staff conduct the following:

1. Further analysis on the impacts of  Short Term Rental on the housing stock in San Rafael;
2. Further analysis on  Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) and Junior Dwelling Unit use as Short Term Rentals;
3. Expanded Community Outreach on Short-Term Rental Approaches, Regulations, Best Practices and Options.

• To view the February 19th, City Council Agenda, click here
• To view the Informational Report on Short-Term Rental Approaches, Regulations, Best Practices and Options, click here