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/STAY · LOCAL RULES · PALM SPRINGS, CA

Palm Springs vacation rental rules

Any stay of 28 days or less in Palm Springs needs a city vacation rental registration certificate, renewed every year. One per owner, capped at 20% of homes in each neighborhood, with a limit on rental contracts per year.

Checked on Nov 11 2026 against the official pages below

The three things to know

PERMIT

A yearly registration certificate: $1,046 new or renewal (city resolution, Dec 1 2025), plus a city TOT registration, insurance, an inspection and a yearly training course and test. One certificate per owner; neighborhoods cap at 20%. New permittees get 26 contracts a year, existing ones 32.

DOOR NOTICE

In plain sight inside: the certificate and the most guests, the city's conditions and rules, the contract summary for the current stay, and a notice with the 24-hour contact, the most occupants, trash day and rules, the indoor-only sound rule, the fines and eviction warning, and a copy of the city's vacation rental chapter.

TAX

11.5% transient occupancy tax plus a 1% tourism district assessment, filed monthly with the city even when the home sat empty. A $25 TOT registration comes first.

Print the door notice

This prints the notice from sec. 5.25.070(o), with the code's warnings already on it. Post it with your certificate, the current stay's contract summary, and a printed copy of chapter 5.25 (link below).

Print these too

  • Chapter 5.25 of the Municipal Code: a copy has to be posted (sec. 5.25.070(o)(7)), along with the city's conditions and rules (sec. 5.25.070(n)).
  • Your registration certificate and the contract summary you filed for the current stay (secs. 5.25.040(f), 5.25.070(h)).

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CITY OF PALM SPRINGS VACATION RENTAL

Guest notice

Posted as required by Palm Springs Municipal Code sec. 5.25.070(o).

    Palm Springs Municipal Code sec. 5.25.070(o). Notice made free at headedin.com/stay/rules/palm-springs/

    Prints one letter page. Post it in plain sight inside with your certificate, the contract summary and a copy of chapter 5.25.

    What the rules say

    Who needs the certificate
    "The operation of a vacation rental or a homeshare interest without a vacation rental registration certificate is prohibited."Sec. 5.25.040(a)
    • Any stay of 28 days in a row or less, paid or not.
    • One per owner: "An owner shall only be issued, and can only maintain, one vacation rental registration certificate at any time." No certificates to business entities (sec. 5.25.040(b)).
    • Neighborhood cap: "The VR Neighborhood Percentage Cap is set at 20%." Full neighborhoods keep a first-come waiting list (sec. 5.25.045).
    • Contracts a year (sec. 5.25.070(b)): 26 for new permittees; 32 plus up to 4 more in July to September for existing ones; 6 for a junior certificate.
    • To apply and renew (sec. 5.25.060): a city TOT registration, an indemnity agreement and insurance, an HOA letter if you have an HOA, an inspection before every renewal, and a yearly city training course and test.
    • Fees: the city's main page lists $1,046 new or yearly (Resolution 25344, from Dec 1 2025); an older page shows $1,072. A sale ends the certificate.
    • Fines (sec. 5.25.090): $500 and $1,000 citations; three in 12 months suspends the certificate for 2 years; renting without one is $5,000.
    What has to be posted
    "The owner shall provide each occupant of a vacation rental with the following information prior to occupancy of the unit and/or post such information in a conspicuous place within the unit"Sec. 5.25.070(o)
    1. The agent, manager, local contact or owner, with a 24-hour phone.
    2. The most occupants.
    3. Trash day and the rules about leaving trash outside.
    4. That sound devices only run inside the fully enclosed home and can't be heard at the property line.
    5. That guests may be cited, fined or evicted for a disturbance or for breaking chapter 5.25.
    6. That going over the occupancy limit is a violation.
    7. A copy of chapter 5.25.

    Also posted: the certificate and the most guests allowed (sec. 5.25.040(f)); the certificate and the city's conditions and rules (sec. 5.25.070(n)); the contract summary for each stay (sec. 5.25.070(h)). No outside sign is required.

    Guests, cars, contact and check-in
    • Guests (sec. 5.25.070(c)): 2 per bedroom, 8 at most overnight, plus 2 children 12 and under; up to 4 more in the daytime.
    • Cars (sec. 5.25.070(d)): one guest vehicle per bedroom overnight, 2 more in the daytime.
    • Local contact available 24/7: answers "by telephone within 15 minutes" and is there "in-person within 30 minutes" (sec. 5.25.070(e), (i)).
    • Check-in: a written contract with a responsible person, met in person or by live video within 24 hours; every adult signs the city's rules statement (sec. 5.25.070(h), (m)).
    • Ads show "The City of Palm Springs Account #" and the number; missing it means a $2,500 fine and a 6-month suspension.
    • Trash cans out only 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. on pickup day, with walk-in service (sec. 5.25.070(k)).
    Taxes
    "11.5% for all other hotels, Vacation Rentals, and Agencies."City of Palm Springs, transient occupancy tax
    • File monthly online "whether your property was rented or not." Late: 10% or $50, whichever is more, plus 1% a month.
    • Tourism district: 1% of vacation rental revenue for the Greater Palm Springs TBID, paid with the monthly TOT.
    • A 2026 city law makes platforms report listings and block bookings for unregistered homes; it doesn't say they collect the TOT for you.

    House rules go in your listing

    For bookings made from Nov 20 2026, Airbnb wants every house rule in the listing itself; signs in the house can only repeat them. This notice only carries what Palm Springs requires, so it adds no new rules. Put quiet hours, parking and the rest in your listing first.

    Official sources, read Nov 11 2026

    Plain-words summary, not legal advice. Rules and fees change, and the official page always wins. Checked Nov 11 2026.

    Help us get it right

    Host in Palm Springs? If a rule, fee or form here has changed, or we missed something, tell us. We check every note against the official source before we change a page, and we put the new checked date on it.

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