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/STAY · LOCAL RULES · SAN RAFAEL, CA

San Rafael short-term rental rules

In San Rafael, a rental of fewer than 30 nights has to be registered with the city every year, and only someone who lives there can host it. The city also asks for a sign near the entrance with ten things on it.

Checked on Nov 11 2026 against the official pages below

The three things to know

PERMIT

Yearly city registration. Only the permanent resident can host: the owner or a renter who has lived there 60 days straight, in their primary home. City fee schedule (approved July 1 2026): $191 first year, $152 renewal. You also need a city business license.

DOOR NOTICE

A sign on a wall or in a binder near the entrance with a 24/7 local contact, the most guests and vehicles, parking, trash, fire safety and fire road, evacuation steps, how to get emergency alerts, and the city noise rules. You send the city a photo of it when you register.

TAX

12% transient occupancy tax (10% city + 2% Marin tourism district) on stays of 30 days or less. The city says Airbnb collects it for you; on other platforms you pay the city yourself, and you file even when nothing is due.

Print the door notice

This is the sign San Rafael asks for at registration. Fill what you know; anything left empty prints as a line to write on. Then take a photo of it on the wall for your registration.

Type what you know. Anything left empty prints as a line to write on, so it works as a blank form too. What you type stays on this phone.

SAN RAFAEL SHORT-TERM RENTAL

Welcome. Please read.

Posted near the entrance as San Rafael asks of every registered short-term rental.

    San Rafael Municipal Code ch. 10.110 and the city short-term rental program. Sign made free at headedin.com/stay/rules/san-rafael/

    Prints one letter page (longer answers may run to two). Put it on a wall or in a binder near the entrance, then photograph it for your registration.

    What the rules say

    Who can register
    • Fewer than 30 nights counts as a short-term rental.
    • Only the permanent resident hosts: the owner, or a renter who has lived there at least 60 days in a row, in their primary home. The city asks for 3 of 5 kinds of proof.
    • Some places can't be registered at all (below-market-rate units, boats, RVs, garages and others; the city's About page has the list).
    • Every year: register, then renew. A self-certified safety inspection with photos (parking, a way out of every bedroom, smoke and CO alarms) goes in each time.
    • Wildfire areas: homes in the wildland-urban interface send a vegetation self-inspection by April 30 each year.
    • Fees: the city's fee schedule approved July 1 2026 shows $191 the first year and $152 to renew. The registration page still shows $170 / $135, so check when you pay.
    What the sign must say, and where
    "Place it on a wall or in a binder near the entrance so guests can easily see it when they arrive."Register your short-term rental, sanrafael.gov
    1. A 24/7 local emergency contact.
    2. The most guests allowed.
    3. The most vehicles allowed.
    4. Off-street parking instructions.
    5. Shared-driveway instructions, if you have one.
    6. Garbage and disposal instructions.
    7. Fire safety and fire access road details.
    8. Emergency and wildfire evacuation steps.
    9. How to sign up for emergency alerts.
    10. The San Rafael noise rules.

    When you register, you send the city photos or a PDF of the sign.

    Guests, parking and the 30-minute rule
    • Guests: "2 people per bedroom, Plus 2 more people if the rental has extra living space."
    • Parking: one off-street space for every 4 guests. A shared driveway needs a parking plan.
    • Local contact: available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week while guests are there, with 30 minutes to fix a complaint before it's escalated.
    • Three strikes: 3 upheld citations in 24 months ends the registration. Late tax, false information or handing the registration to someone else can too.
    • Neighbors can report problems to the city's hotline, (415) 521-3556.
    Hotel tax and business license
    "Tax rate: 12% of rent charged"Pay hotel tax (transient occupancy), sanrafael.gov
    • 10% to the city and 2% to the Marin County tourism improvement district, on stays of 30 days or less.
    • The city says Airbnb collects and sends it for you. On other platforms you file monthly or quarterly with the city, even when no tax is due. Late: 10% penalty plus interest.
    • A city business license comes first (rental properties are included), renewed each calendar year.

    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 San Rafael 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 San Rafael? 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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