Seaside, CA
When deciding whether to become an Airbnb host, it is important for you to understand the laws in your city. We recommend that you do your own research as this article isn’t fully comprehensive and, as a platform and online marketplace, we do not provide legal or tax advice. Nonetheless, we want to provide resources that may help you better understand the laws and regulations in Seaside. This list is not exhaustive, but it may give you a good start in understanding your local laws. If you have questions, you can visit the City of Seaside's Short-Term Rental information page, or contact the Community & Economic Development Department at hnoori@ci.seaside.ca.us or (831) 899-6726, or consult a local lawyer or tax professional.
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Short-term rental regulations
Owners of Short-Term Rentals (STRs), also known as Vacation Rentals, are required to obtain a Short-Term Rental License per Chapter 17.52.251 of the Seaside Municipal Code. This code applies to all properties (including rooms and guest houses whether or not detached) rented for 30 or fewer consecutive days. See full ordinance here.
The City administers the following two types of Short-term Rental licenses:
1) Hosted Short-Term Rental License: A Hosted STR license allows a Seaside property owner to rent out a portion of their main dwelling on a short-term basis (i.e. owner-occupied hosted room rentals). The property owner must occupy the dwelling unit as their principal residence and must be present during the occupancy of the hosted Short-Term Rental.
2) Non-Hosted Short-Term Rental License: A Non-Hosted STR License allows a Seaside property owner to rent out their entire dwelling unit on a short-term basis (i.e. non-owner occupied entire home rentals).
Each type of license is subject to a discrete set of requirements including an initial application, annual renewal, property inspection, and payment of associated fees. Please read the information below to determine your eligibility for each type of license along with the application requirements.
Additional information
Payment
Hosted Short-Term Rental License
A Hosted STR License allows a homeowner to rent out a habitable portion (i.e. rooms) of their main dwelling unit/house while the homeowner occupies the STR property as their principal residence. Hosted STR Licenses are not subject to any cap or density limits. Additionally, Hosted STR Licenses do not authorize the use of affordable housing units and Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU's) to be used for hosted Short-Term Rentals.
Generally, fees include the following:
1) $250: Short-Term Rental License Renewal Fee
2) $17: Business License Application Fee
3) $4: CASp (CA Senate Bill #1186) Fee
4) $37.50: Business Operations Tax if projected annual short-term rental income is less than $25,000 (plus $9 for each additional $5,000 income in excess of $25,000).
Renewals
All Short-Term Rental Licenses expire on June 30th each year. The City sends out renewal notices in May and June each year.
Once your application is received and reviewed for completeness, City staff will assess fees and email you a link so you can pay your fees online. Fees will include:
1) $250: Short-Term Rental License Renewal Fee
2) $17: Business License Application Fee
3) $4: CASp (CA Senate Bill #1186) Fee
4) $37.50: Business Operations Tax if projected annual short-term rental income is less than $25,000 (plus $9 for each additional $5,000 income in excess of $25,000).
Fees are subject to change.
Taxes
For those of you who are hosting short-term rentals through Airbnb (exclusively or otherwise), you may already know that Airbnb is collecting and remitting TOT for all bookings/reservations, and you are not required to pay TOT to the City separately.
However, please also note that the City does not have TOT collection and remittance agreements with any other hosting platform (including VRBO, HomeAway, TripAdvisor, Flipkey, vacationrentals.com, etc.). Therefore, it is your responsibility to pay TOT on all income earned through the aforementioned hosting platforms.
The Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) rate is 12% and is payable to the City on a monthly basis. Payments are due by the end of day of the following month. For example, taxes collected for the first time started in January; those taxes collected are due no later than February 28th.
TOT returns can be filed online through the STR portal or by mail. To file TOT returns by mail, complete and mail the TOT return form along with your payment to the following address:
City of Seaside
STR TOT
440 Harcourt Ave
Seaside, CA 93955
Airbnb is collecting and remitting TOT for all bookings/reservations, and you are not required to pay TOT to the City separately.
Other contracts and 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.
Our commitment to your community
We are committed to working with local officials to clarify how local rules impact the community. We will continue to advocate for changes that will enable people to rent out their homes.