United States · California
Short-term rental rules in San Diego
Legal regime
City of San Diego Short-Term Residential Occupancy (STRO) Ordinance, administered by the Office of the City Treasurer. An STRO license is required to operate any dwelling rental of less than one month within the City of San Diego; the licensing requirement became enforceable on 2023-05-01. The ordinance establishes four tiers: Tier 1 (Part-Time, maximum 20 days per calendar year, host need not be present); Tier 2 (Home Sharing, more than 20 days per year, host resides onsite, host absences capped at 90 days per calendar year); Tier 3 (Whole Home, citywide except Mission Beach, more than 20 days per year without host onsite, minimum 90-day annual utilization to maintain the license); Tier 4 (Mission Beach Whole Home, more than 20 days per year, minimum 90-day annual utilization, application period currently closed).
Key parameters
- License required
- Yes
- Max nights/year
- No cap specified
License process
STRO license application filed with the City Treasurer's Office. Licenses are valid for two years from the date of issuance and all fees are non-refundable. Fees effective 2025-03-01: Tier 1 and Tier 2 — USD $33 application fee plus a license fee in the USD $193–$284 range (depending on tier); Tier 3 and Tier 4 — USD $41 application fee plus a USD $1,129 license fee. Tier 4 (Mission Beach whole-home) is subject to a capped pool of licenses and the application window is currently closed. These fees are paid by the operator to the City and are not collected from guests.
Applicable taxes
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Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT)
Rate: Zone 1: 11.75% / Zone 2: 12.75% / Zone 3: 13.75% (effective 2025-05-01; previously a flat 10.5%) · Basis: Percentage of the rent charged per night, collected by the operator from the guest and remitted to the City. The applicable rate depends on the property's tax zone, determined via the City's interactive zone lookup.
Recent changes
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2023-05-01
STRO licensing requirement became enforceable. From this date it is unlawful to operate a short-term residential occupancy (rental of a dwelling unit for less than one month) without a valid STRO license.
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2025-03-01
STRO license and application fees revised: Tier 1–2 set at $33 application + $193–$284 license fee; Tier 3–4 set at $41 application + $1,129 license fee. Fees non-refundable.
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2025-05-01
Transient Occupancy Tax replaced the prior flat 10.5% rate with a three-zone structure: Zone 1 = 11.75%, Zone 2 = 12.75%, Zone 3 = 13.75%. A separate 2% Tourism Marketing District (TMD) assessment applies only to lodging businesses with 70 or more rooms and therefore does not generally apply to individual short-term rentals.