Is Airbnb legal in San Francisco?

Short-term rentals in San Francisco are legal only when the host complies with the city's rules. The current regime: Permitted with certificate, primary residence only, 90-night cap on unhosted stays. Permit or registration requirement: Short-term residential rental certificate from the Office of Short-Term Rentals plus a business registration; hosts must live in the unit at least 275 nights/year. Operating without the required registration can lead to fines and platform delisting, San Francisco is among the markets where Airbnb and Vrbo are required or pressured to remove non-compliant listings. Check the city's official short-term rental page before listing, because ordinances in this space are amended frequently.

Do I have to live in the property to rent it short-term in San Francisco?

Primary-residence requirement in San Francisco: Yes. Night caps: 90 unhosted nights/year; hosted stays (host present) are not capped. This is the single biggest factor separating investor-friendly STR markets from restricted ones, where a primary-residence rule applies, a pure investment property generally cannot operate as a short-term rental at all, and investors instead look at 30-plus-day furnished rentals, which most STR ordinances (including San Francisco's) do not cover.

What taxes do short-term rental hosts pay in San Francisco?

Lodging taxes for short-term stays in San Francisco: City transient occupancy tax of 14% on stays under 30 days. On top of lodging taxes, STR income is ordinary taxable income at the federal and state level, and hosts averaging short stays with substantial services may owe self-employment tax. Airbnb and Vrbo collect and remit some lodging taxes automatically in many jurisdictions, but the host remains legally responsible for confirming full compliance, verify current rates with the city and state revenue departments, as they change often.

San Francisco Short-Term Rental Laws (2026)

California · Last reviewed: July 2026

San Francisco permits short-term rentals only in a registered host's primary residence, with unhosted stays capped at 90 nights per year. Registration runs through the city's dedicated Office of Short-Term Rentals, and platforms can only list certified units. Like Los Angeles and New York, the regime is designed to prevent investor-owned whole-home Airbnbs.

General information, not legal advice. Verify with the current statute or a local attorney before acting.

San Francisco Airbnb rules at a glance

Status	Permitted with certificate, primary residence only, 90-night cap on unhosted stays
Primary residence required	Yes
Permit / license	Short-term residential rental certificate from the Office of Short-Term Rentals plus a business registration; hosts must live in the unit at least 275 nights/year
Night caps	90 unhosted nights/year; hosted stays (host present) are not capped
Lodging taxes	City transient occupancy tax of 14% on stays under 30 days

Key rules for hosts in San Francisco

Only permanent residents (275+ nights/year in the unit) may register, and only their primary residence
Unhosted rentals are capped at 90 nights per calendar year; hosted rentals are unlimited
Certificate number must appear on all listings; platforms may only list registered units
Liability insurance of at least $500,000 (or platform coverage) is required
Quarterly reporting of hosted and unhosted nights to the Office of Short-Term Rentals

Enforcement

San Francisco pioneered platform liability after a 2016 ordinance (upheld in litigation with Airbnb) made platforms responsible for booking only registered units. The Office of Short-Term Rentals actively audits night counts and issues penalties.

Taxes on short stays

City transient occupancy tax of 14% on stays under 30 days. Platforms often collect and remit some or all lodging taxes automatically, but hosts remain responsible for registration and any amounts the platform does not handle. Stays of 30 days or longer are generally exempt from lodging taxes and from the short-term rental rules above. STR income is also ordinary taxable income at the federal and state level.

What this means for investors

Before underwriting a short-term rental in San Francisco, confirm the parcel’s exact jurisdiction and zoning, whether a permit is available to a non-resident owner, and the all-in tax load — then stress-test the deal as a 30-plus-day furnished rental or a traditional lease in case the rules tighten. Model the numbers with the Airbnb calculator and compare against a long-term strategy using our rental income investing guide.

Official source

Verify current requirements on San Francisco’s official short-term rental page: https://www.sf.gov/office-short-term-rentals.

San Francisco short-term rental FAQs

Is Airbnb legal in San Francisco?: Short-term rentals in San Francisco are legal only when the host complies with the city's rules. The current regime: Permitted with certificate, primary residence only, 90-night cap on unhosted stays. Permit or registration requirement: Short-term residential rental certificate from the Office of Short-Term Rentals plus a business registration; hosts must live in the unit at least 275 nights/year. Operating without the required registration can lead to fines and platform delisting, San Francisco is among the markets where Airbnb and Vrbo are required or pressured to remove non-compliant listings. Check the city's official short-term rental page before listing, because ordinances in this space are amended frequently.
Do I have to live in the property to rent it short-term in San Francisco?: Primary-residence requirement in San Francisco: Yes. Night caps: 90 unhosted nights/year; hosted stays (host present) are not capped. This is the single biggest factor separating investor-friendly STR markets from restricted ones, where a primary-residence rule applies, a pure investment property generally cannot operate as a short-term rental at all, and investors instead look at 30-plus-day furnished rentals, which most STR ordinances (including San Francisco's) do not cover.
What taxes do short-term rental hosts pay in San Francisco?: Lodging taxes for short-term stays in San Francisco: City transient occupancy tax of 14% on stays under 30 days. On top of lodging taxes, STR income is ordinary taxable income at the federal and state level, and hosts averaging short stays with substantial services may owe self-employment tax. Airbnb and Vrbo collect and remit some lodging taxes automatically in many jurisdictions, but the host remains legally responsible for confirming full compliance, verify current rates with the city and state revenue departments, as they change often.

Compare other markets

This page is general information, not legal advice. Laws change — verify with the current statute or a local attorney before acting. Summary reflects widely documented rules as of July 2026; short-term rental ordinances are amended and litigated frequently.