The rise of the sharing economy has created new challenges for residents and hosts. In the Morongo Basin, we have regulations for Yucca Valley, Twentynine Palms, and San Bernardino County for all unincorporated areas. Understanding the rules takes effort. Reporter Hilary Sloane has outlined the regulations in each of the three municipalities, and begins her three-part report with a look at Yucca Valley.
Short Term Rental Regulations and Applications
As Short-term vacation rentals have become prominent in the Morongo Basin, County and Cities governments are working to create regulations that will work for residents and vacation rental businesses. Vacation rentals bring income and opportunity to communities but also add to the lack of long-term rental housing, increase house prices, and add additional stress to services.
To keep up with the increases, local and County governments continue to tweak the regulations. Therefore, it is essential to stay abreast of the rules.
If you are considering buying an existing vacation rental, building a new structure, turning a current residence into a rental in Yucca Valley, or are a concerned resident, the current cap in Yucca Valley is 10% of its housing inventory.
Yucca Valley, Twentynine Palms, and San Bernardino County require permits. Most application requirements are similar, but prices can vary.
Application:
- Name and Contact information of property
- Owner and Applicant if they are different people, address of the property, and Assessor’s parcel number.
- It must be a single dwelling unit, accessory dwelling to other permitted structures.
- Total square footage of the dwelling
- Total square footage habitable space to be used for sleeping
- Name of the managing agency, agent, or property manager if different from the Owner.
- You must sign and accept the conditions of the Short-term vacation rental regulations.
- There is a fee to cover inspections.
- Drawings, plans, construction, and building permits must be up to date.
In Twentynine Palms:
The application process must be completed in the following order and include the Application for Vacation Home Rental, a City Business License, and a Safety Inspection.
- Driver Licenses or State Issued Identification for all owners
- Certificate of Insurance (Million Dollar ($1,000,000) Single limit liability
- Septic Certification (dated within one year)
- Dimensioned Floor Plan with all rooms labeled
- Trust documents showing the Trustees are needed if the property is held in Trust.
- If the property is held in an LLC, Articles of Organization and pages showing who the officers are, are required.
- If an Agent acts on their behalf, they require a notarized letter of authorization.
Additionally, in Yucca Valley, application requirements also include the following:
- You must state the number of bedrooms and the applicable overnight and daytime occupancy limit.
- You must acknowledge the receipt and inspection of a copy of the Good Neighbor Brochure.
- You must have a diagram and or/photographs of the premises showing and indicating the location, designated on-site parking spaces, and the maximum number of vehicles allowed for overnight occupants.
- The location of pools, hot tubs, spas, or similar elements installed or constructed on the property.
- Copy of business registration/application filed with the Town of Yucca Valley.
- Copy of the TOT permit application filed with the Town.
- Documentation of Insurance coverage.
- Nuisance response plan.
Notification Requirements have now been built into the application and fee process. The County and Yucca Valley require letters and notices to go out to anyone within a certain distance of the rental. You will be charged for notification. The notification includes:
- The Owner or manager’s name.
- Phone number
- A rental complaint hotline for emergencies.
The Transient Occupancy Tax is for visitors of vacation rental homes (rented for less than 30 days), motels, and hotels. Yucca Valley has increased its TOT to 12%. San Bernardino County (Unincorporated areas) is 7%, and Twentynine Palms is 10.5%. Airbnb and VBRO charge renters for the TOT. You are still responsible for providing an accounting four times a year.
Once you sign up, the paperwork will come in the mail.
- It is illegal to operate, list, or advertise any property as a Vacation Home Rental or Short-Term Rental before a permit and business license have been approved and issued by the City or County.
- Please be sure to obtain building permits for all remodels or alterations to your property.
- The Building Inspector must sign all Building Permits before calling for a Vacation Home Rental Safety Inspection.
- You must obtain permits for alterations or remodels to ensure the approval of your Vacation Home Rental permit.
A short-term residential rental unit permit is transferable to a new owner, provided that the new Owner informs the County or City Planning within 30 days of taking title to the property. Additional fees may be required from the City or County.
Vacation Rental Caps
Yucca Valley is capping permitting at 10% of the existing inventory, which is currently at 10% of the Town’s single-family housing units. Twentynine Palms is currently caping at 500 vacation rentals. There is also a limit of five vacation home rentals to any person, partnership, or company that could own and operate.
San Bernardino County has agreed to place an interim cap on STRs in unincorporated county areas by March 2023.
Each jurisdiction has its building permits and should be researched carefully.
Some regulations to consider are:
- All outdoor lighting must be shielded, so the light goes below a horizontal plane to maintain dark skies.
- All short-term rental units require fire extinguishers and a notice posted in the team containing the name of the manager or Owner, the maximum number of occupants, maximum number of vehicles on the property according to the Town or County code. The location of utility emergency shut-off values and local emergency numbers for hospitals and police must also be visible and easy to access for the renter. In addition, property boundary maps and a notice of noise monitoring equipment installed are mandatory for Yucca Valley.
Yucca Valley Short-term Permit Fees:
- Fees Due at Application Submittal
- $965.00 Permit Fee (bi-annual)
- $59.00 Business Registration Application (Annual renewal $44.00)
- $20.00 Transient Occupancy Tax Permit – separate Application
Fees Due Upon Issuance
- $340.00 Compliance Monitoring Fee (bi-annual)
- $1,384.00 Total Fees
San Bernardino County Fee as of July 12, 2022:
- $600 Application Fees
- $285 Permit Fee
- $485 Surrounding Property Owner Notification Fee
- $885 Renewal Application
- $1,370 Total Fees
San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors approved a one-time $150 for short-term rental owners who purchase an approved outdoor sound monitoring system. This fee credit is applied at the time of Application or renewal for your short-term rental property.
This program has been effective since July 28, 2022.
If you change Owner or manager, you must notify the County and will be charged the $485 notification fee.
Twentynine Palm’s current Vacation Home Rental Fees:
- Business License Application: $106.90 + $4 (SB 1186 Fee) Total: $110.90
- Vacation Home Rental License: $300.00
- VHR Safety Inspection: $204.18
- 300′ Radius Notification: $109.04
- Sign: $54.52
- Total: $778.64
- TOT: 10.5%
Payments and Renewals: Business License application and renewal
Payments can be made online (see below). Renewals are due upon expiration date by 30 days after that date; a late fee applies for renewals 30 days after the expiration date indicated on your Business License. Business Owner is responsible for maintaining their Business License active.
Business License:
If you are starting a new business, you must check with San Bernardino County to find out if you need to record a Fictitious Business Name or obtain Health Permits. Contact the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration if you require a state reseller’s license. Depending on the type of business, you may need to contact other county and state offices to obtain all the necessary documents to start your business. The city requires a State Issued Driver’s License or ID to be submitted with your Application.
City Hall Hours of operations: 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. – Monday through Thursday, closed between 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. daily.
