I-Pasadena, e-CA
When deciding whether to become an Airbnb host, it's important for you to understand the laws in your city. As a platform and marketplace we do not provide legal advice, but we want to provide some useful links that may help you better understand laws and regulations in Pasadena, CA. This list is not exhaustive, but should give you a good start in understanding your local laws. If you have questions, you should contact the City of Pasadena’s Office of City Planning and Development, visit their Short Term Rental Regulations page, or consult a local lawyer or tax professional.
Short-Term Rental License
- Short-term rental operators in Pasadena must obtain a valid short-term rental license. Pasadena requires hosts to register by applying here and paying a fee of $100, plus administrative fees. This license must be renewed annually. You can read more about all short-term rental regulations here and in this handout. If you have questions you can also call the City directly at (626) 744-6777.
Hosting Eligibility
- Primary Residence. A property owner or, with landlord approval, a tenant or lessee, can obtain a short-term rental permit. You will be asked to provide documentation verifying that your listing is your permanent residence for a minimum of 9 months out of the year. Eligible documentation includes: vehicle registration, valid driver's license; voter registration, tax documents and utility bills.
- Hosted and Unhosted Stays. The City issues two separate permits for both hosted and unhosted home sharing. Hosted stays require that a host remain on-site throughout their guest’s stay except during daytime or work hours. Unhosted stays allow hosts to share their homes while away on vacation or work related travel for 90 days. You can read more here.
- Permit Posting Requirement. The City of Pasadena requires that hosts to include their short-term license number on their listing. You may include your short-term rental license number on your listing by going to Manage Listing and Calendar. . Once you are on the listing page, proceed to the “License or registration number” field and type in your license number, following the acceptable license format for Pasadena. The format is: SRH2018-XXXXX or SRU2018-XXXXX.
- Life and Safety Requirements. The City of Pasadena requires that all homesharing units be inspected to ensure they meet basic fire and life/safety requirements. Certain regulations applicable to residential and non-residential uses may be relevant to your listing. For more information, please review the City’s Building and Fire Code. Self certification or third party inspections may be allowed.
- Other rules. It's also important to understand and abide by other contracts or rules that bind you, such as leases, condo board or co-op rules, HOA rules, or rules established by tenant organizations. Please read your lease agreement and check with your landlord if applicable. If you do not own the property, written consent must be obtained from the property owner in order to receive a short-term rental license.
Requirements for Operating your Listing
- Pasadena Zoning Code. According to Pasadena’s Zoning Code, short-term rentals cannot be used for commercial events. The City’s code also states that only one rental contract is permitted at any time in a short-term rental. You should consult the zoning code for further regulations that may apply to your listing.
- Safety Issues. All short-term rental listings must have a 24 hours contact xxxx an operable smoke detector, carbon monoxide detector, and fire extinguisher.
- Taxes. Pasadena imposes a 12.11% Transient Occupancy Tax on reservations of fewer than 30 nights. Airbnb is establishing an agreement with the City to collect and remit transient occupancy tax. However, hosts will be responsible for paying all applicable taxes for all bookings beginning on March 12, 2018. TOT applies to all ‘taxable receipts’. Taxes must be filed quarterly to the Office of Finance. For more information about the City's transient occupancy tax, you can call the City directly at (626) 744-4538.
- Enforcement. Short-term rentals are subject to compliance with the operating standards laid out by the City here. Violations could be subject to daily fines and three violations against the same property could result in the revocation of your short-term rental permit.
We are committed to working with local officials to help them understand how Airbnb benefits our community. Where needed, we will continue to advocate for changes that will allow regular people to rent out their own homes.