Yes, Airbnb is legal in San Diego — but you must hold a valid Short-Term Residential Occupancy (STRO) license before you operate or even advertise a rental of fewer than 30 consecutive days. The city sorts every short-term rental into one of four tiers, each with its own rules on residency, day limits, and fees. Whole-home investor rentals are allowed but capped and licensed by tier. Operating without the correct license is an enforcement violation, so the tier you qualify for determines almost everything about how you can run your rental.
| Key fact | San Diego, CA |
|---|---|
| License required | Yes — STRO license (4 tiers) |
| Primary residence required | Depends on tier (required for Tier 2; not for Tiers 1, 3, 4) |
| Night cap | Tier 1: ≤ 20 rental days/year; Tiers 2–4: no cap |
| Permit fee | $33–$41 application + $193–$1,129 license (per 2 years) |
| Lodging tax | Zoned TOT 11.75% / 12.75% / 13.75% |
| Investor whole-home allowed? | Yes — Tier 3 (citywide, capped) or Tier 4 (Mission Beach) |
| Last verified | 2026-07-20 |
This page is general information, not legal advice. Short-term rental rules change frequently — confirm current requirements directly with the City of San Diego before operating.
Do you need a permit?
Yes. San Diego requires a Short-Term Residential Occupancy (STRO) license for any rental of a dwelling unit for periods of fewer than 30 consecutive days. The license must be in hand before you operate or advertise the property. There are four tiers, and you apply for the one that matches how you intend to rent:
- Tier 1 — part-time rental, 20 days or fewer per year.
- Tier 2 — home sharing, where the host lives on-site.
- Tier 3 — whole-home rental (excluding Mission Beach), host absent.
- Tier 4 — whole-home rental inside the Mission Beach Community Planning Area.
Source: City of San Diego Office of the City Treasurer, STRO program page (verified 2026-07-20).
Primary-residence requirement
Whether you must live at the property depends on the tier. Tier 2 (home sharing) requires the host to permanently reside and occupy the dwelling; the host may be absent up to 90 days per calendar year. Tier 1, Tier 3, and Tier 4 do not require the host to live on-site — Tier 1 is for occasional part-time renting, and Tiers 3 and 4 are the whole-home categories where the owner is absent. This is a meaningful contrast with cities that ban non-owner-occupied rentals outright: Denver, for example, restricts short-term rentals to a host’s primary residence, while San Diego expressly permits whole-home investor rentals under Tiers 3 and 4.
Night caps and minimum stays
Tier 1 is capped at 20 rental days per year. Once you exceed 20 days, you need a Tier 2, 3, or 4 license instead. Tiers 2, 3, and 4 have no annual night cap. However, Tier 3 and Tier 4 impose a two-night minimum stay per booking — single-night bookings are prohibited — and require the unit to be used as a short-term rental for a minimum of 90 days each year to keep the license active, verified through periodic reporting. Source: City of San Diego STRO program page (verified 2026-07-20).
Permit fees
Fees below are effective March 1, 2025, are non-refundable, and cover a license term of two years from the date of issuance:
| Tier | Application fee | License fee |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | $33 | $193 |
| Tier 2 | $33 | $284 |
| Tier 3 | $41 | $1,129 |
| Tier 4 (Mission Beach) | $41 | $1,129 |
Source: City of San Diego Office of the City Treasurer, STRO fee schedule (verified 2026-07-20).
Lodging tax (TOT + TMD)
Short-term rental hosts must collect and remit San Diego’s Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) on stays of less than one month. Under voter-approved Measure C, the flat 10.5% rate was replaced with zoned rates effective May 1, 2025, based on a property’s distance from the Convention Center: 11.75%, 12.75%, or 13.75%. Most short-term-rental neighborhoods — including Mission Beach, Pacific Beach, and La Jolla — fall in the 11.75% zone; the city publishes a tax-zone lookup map to confirm the rate for a specific address. The separate Tourism Marketing District (TMD) assessment (2.00%) applies only to lodging businesses with 70 or more rooms, so individual short-term rentals — which are far below that threshold — generally owe TOT only. TOT is filed monthly. Source: City of San Diego Office of the City Treasurer, TOT/TMD page (verified 2026-07-20).
Whole-home vs. hosted
Hosted rentals are Tier 2: uncapped nights, but the host must live at the property. Whole-home (unhosted) rentals fall under Tier 3 or Tier 4. Tier 3 covers whole-home rentals citywide outside Mission Beach and is capped at roughly 1% of the city’s housing units, which means licenses are limited and demand often exceeds supply. Tier 4 is the Mission Beach carve-out, where whole-home licenses are capped at about 30% of that area’s housing units; when the cap is reached the city runs a waitlist. If you plan to buy purely to rent, you are looking at Tier 3 or Tier 4 — both legal, both limited.
Zoning and HOA rules
An STRO license attaches to a specific dwelling unit, not to the operator, and it does not override private restrictions. Homeowners’ associations, condo bylaws, and CC&Rs may prohibit or further limit short-term rentals regardless of your city license, so review those documents before applying. The Tier 3 citywide cap and the Tier 4 Mission Beach cap also mean that in some areas a license simply may not be available at the moment you apply. Source: City of San Diego STRO program page (verified 2026-07-20).
Enforcement and penalties
A valid STRO license is required before you operate or advertise a short-term rental, and operating without one is an enforcement violation. The city’s public STRO license dataset lets neighbors and the city verify whether a listing is licensed. San Diego’s program page does not publish a specific per-day fine schedule, so we do not list a dollar figure here — contact the Office of the City Treasurer for current penalty details. Source: City of San Diego STRO program page and STRO license open data (verified 2026-07-20).
Primary sources
- San Diego STRO program & fees (Office of the City Treasurer)
- San Diego Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) & TMD rates
- San Diego STRO license open data
Compare short-term rental rules in other cities
Short-term rental laws vary widely from one city to the next — compare San Diego with other markets in our database:
- Short-term rental laws by city (database hub)
- Denver short-term rental rules
- Austin short-term rental license
- Scottsdale short-term rental license
Frequently asked questions
Can I run an Airbnb in San Diego without living there?
Yes. Whole-home, non-owner-occupied rentals are legal under Tier 3 (citywide, outside Mission Beach) or Tier 4 (Mission Beach). Both are capped — Tier 3 at roughly 1% of housing units citywide — so a license may not always be available. That is more permissive than Denver, which limits short-term rentals to a host’s primary residence.
How much is a San Diego STRO license?
As of March 1, 2025: Tier 1 is $33 + $193, Tier 2 is $33 + $284, and Tier 3 and Tier 4 are each $41 + $1,129. Fees are non-refundable and the license lasts two years.
What tax do I charge guests?
You collect and remit San Diego’s Transient Occupancy Tax at the zoned rate for your address — 11.75%, 12.75%, or 13.75% since May 1, 2025. Most short-term-rental neighborhoods sit in the 11.75% zone. The 2.00% TMD assessment applies only to lodging businesses with 70 or more rooms, so it generally does not apply to individual hosts.
Last verified: 2026-07-20. Rules change — confirm current requirements with the City of San Diego Office of the City Treasurer before operating.