Santa Barbara Advances Short-Term Rental Rules

Santa Barbara's council advanced a unanimous framework for short-term rentals and homeshares, adding zoning limits, licensing requirements, operating rules, and new fees citywide.
Inland residential neighborhoods generally would not allow whole-home rentals or homeshares, while commercial and mixed-use areas could; coastal rules allowed broader homeshare eligibility.
ADUs, affordable housing, live-work units, garages, storage spaces, and RVs were excluded, and homes with long-term tenants in the past 24 mo remained ineligible.
Operators would need a license, two-night minimum stays, quiet hours, and a local contact answering complaints within 30 minutes; fees were $3.3K upfront, $2.9K yearly.
Council kept one license per owner and one STR per lot. The licensing program was planned for January 11, 2027, with 180 days to comply.