Can I rent out my San Diego home on Airbnb?
Only with a City of San Diego Short-Term Residential Occupancy (STRO) license: part-time (20 days a year or less) and home-sharing licenses are available, but whole-home licenses are capped — about 800 remained citywide on the City's last count, and Mission Beach's cap is full.
- Whole-home cap
- 1% of housing units
- Mission Beach cap
- 30% — full
- Tier 3–4 license fee
- $1,129 / 2 years
- Minimum stay (Tiers 3–4)
- 2 nights
The short version
- The City requires a STRO license for rentals of less than a month; operating without one has been a violation since May 1, 2023.
- Four tiers: Tier 1 part-time (≤20 days/year), Tier 2 home-sharing (host lives there 275+ days), Tier 3 whole-home citywide, Tier 4 whole-home in Mission Beach.
- Tier 3 is capped at 1% of the City's housing units (4,854 issued, 807 remaining per the City's page); Tier 4 is capped at 30% of Mission Beach units and shows 0 remaining.
- License fees: $193 (Tier 1), $284 (Tier 2), $1,129 (Tiers 3–4), plus application fees of $33–$41; licenses last two years.
- Whole-home licenses require a two-night minimum stay and at least 90 days of use a year, and you must register for Transient Occupancy Tax first.
If you're buying in San Diego with the idea of covering the mortgage with vacation rentals, check this before you make an offer. The City of San Diego licenses every short-term rental, and the licenses that matter to investors — whole-home rentals — are capped. Other cities in the county (Oceanside, Encinitas, Coronado and so on) have their own, different rules.
The four STRO license tiers
City of San Diego Office of the City Treasurer, Short-Term Residential Occupancy. Counts as posted on the City's STRO page.
4,854
Tier 3 licenses issued
807
Tier 3 licenses remaining
0
Tier 4 (Mission Beach) remaining — 1,099 issued
What whole-home hosts must do
- Register for the City's Transient Occupancy Tax before applying — guests pay hotel tax on short-term stays.
- Enforce a two-night minimum stay.
- Use the license at least 90 days each year, or risk losing it.
- Renew every two years; licenses expire two years from issuance.
- Display the license number in listings. Neighbors can report problems through Get It Done.
Your realistic options as an owner
| Occasional host | Live-in host | Investor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| License | Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 or 4 |
| Use | Rent the whole place during Comic-Con or while you travel — 20 days a year max | Rent a room or ADU while you live on site | Full-time vacation rental |
| Availability | Uncapped | Uncapped | Capped; Mission Beach full |
| Verdict | — | The most accessible year-round option | — |
- 01
Check the address
The City's Active STRO License Map shows every licensed property.
- 02
Confirm which city you're in
A San Diego mailing address isn't always City of San Diego jurisdiction.
- 03
Register for TOT, then apply
Through the City Treasurer's online portal.
- 04
Consider month-plus rentals
Stays of a month or longer fall outside the short-term rules — a common route for traveling nurses and relocating families. Confirm the current definition with the City before relying on it.
KEEP READING
SOURCES
Everything above traces back to one of these. Follow them — if one has changed and we haven't, that's our mistake, not yours.
City of San Diego, Office of the City Treasurer · 2026-09-29
Tiers, caps, counts, fees, 2-year term, 2-night minimum, 90-day use, TOT
City of San Diego · 2026-09-29