There has been a lot of public discourse, political discussion, and general controversy over the topic of Vacation Rentals (aka: Short Term Rentals, STVR’s, or as the city refers to them: Short-Term Residential Occupancy (STRO). Whatever you want to call them, the topic is the same. Some residents love them, some hate them. Well, there was enough public comment on this topic for the City of San Diego to take action. Notice I said “City” and not “County”. Each of the 11 municipalities in San Diego County is responsible for determining how they individually want to handle this topic. This article addresses the City of San Diego’s response only.
I have been inundated with inquiries about how STROs are being handled and what rules have been or are being put into place. This article is in response to those inquiries and will hopefully shed a little light on the rules and the process as it stands now. The City of San Diego has adopted a new ordinance to address STROs city-wide. That ordinance goes into effect July 1, 2022. CLICK HERE FOR STRO UPDATE
The City of San Diego website has a page discussing this issue as well. In summary, there are four Tiers of licensing going to be available. Depending on whether you want to rent more or less than 20 days per year and whether you want to participate in a “Whole Home” or “Home Sharing” scenario are the factors you need to consider to determine which Tier is right for you.
See the table below for a summary of the different Tiers. There is also a Pre-Registration Survey that you can fill out to get the ball rolling. As of the date of this article, this is the place to start. The city has not made any formal applications available yet.
| Tier 1 Part-Time |
Tier 2 Home Sharing |
Tier 3 Whole Home (excluding Mission Beach) |
Tier 4 Mission Beach Whole Home |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rented for an aggregate of 20 days or less per year
The owner or permanent resident does not need to reside onsite during the STRO License expires two years after issuance. |
Renting a room or rooms in the home for more than 20 days per year so long as the owner or permanent resident resides onsite
The owner or permanent resident may be absent from the permanent residence during the STRO for up to 90 days per calendar year Home sharing includes duplex properties and eligible accessory dwelling units (ADU) when the host resides onsite Most ADUs do not qualify for STRO License expires two years after issuance. |
Rentals for more than 20 days per year where the owner or permanent resident does not reside onsite. |
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| The number of licenses issued will not exceed 1% of San Diego’s total housing units outside the Mission Beach Community Planning Area *
Guest two-night minimum stay required License expires two years after issuance. |
The number of licenses issued will not exceed 30% of the Mission Beach Community Planning Area *
Guest two-night minimum stay required License expires two years after issuance. |
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* Based on the most recent Demographic and Socioeconomic Housing estimates issued by the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) rounded up to the nearest whole number.