Short-term rental rules in unincorporated San Diego County
OpenNo permit, cap or minimum stay: register for the county's transient occupancy tax.
Verified Oct 20, 2026 · confidence medium · rules change, so confirm with the city before you buy.
Homes for sale on parcels in unincorporated San Diego County today
470 active listings
- 467 STR-eligible
- 3 STR: check
Homes for sale on the MLS (no land, rentals or 55+ communities), by the status of each home's parcel under these rules. Updated daily.
See STR-eligible listingsThe rules
- Who may host
- Anyone registered for TOT.
- Where
- Unincorporated county land, including Lake San Marcos, Twin Oaks Valley, Rancho Santa Fe, Fallbrook and Ramona.
- Minimum stay
- None set
- Occupancy tax (TOT)
- 8%, paid by the guest
- Cap
- No cap.
- When the home sells
- The city doesn't say; ask before you buy.
- Mid-term
- The county counts 30 days or less as transient: a mid-term stay is 31+ nights.
- Also
- The zoning ordinance's "Transient Habitation" use is a latent risk the county does not appear to enforce.
HOA
An HOA may ban rentals of 30 days or less (Civ. Code §4741). A city permit doesn't override the CC&Rs.
The parcel decides
These rules apply to parcels in unincorporated San Diego County, whatever the mailing address says. Check an address to see which rules apply to one home.
Sources
Verified Oct 20, 2026 · confidence medium. This is a summary, not legal advice.