Short-Term Rental Program

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 principle 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.

The City of Seaside is currently accepting applications for new Hosted Short-Term Rental Licenses. Applications must be submitted in person at City Hall by applicant. 

The process for application submittal will be as follows:

Step 1: Download and complete the attached application form. Please be advised that the applicant for a hosted STR license can only be the property owner and not a tenant even if authorized by the property owner. The property owner must occupy the property as their principal residence. Please also note that the Building Inspection checklist must be completed by a licensed general contractor.

• Hosted STR License Application

Step 2: Deliver your complete application packet and supporting residency documents. Staff will advise on the fee amount as certain fees may prorated depending on when you are applying. 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). 

Non-Hosted Short-Term Rental License

A Non-Hosted STR License allows non-owner occupied entire home rentals. Non-Hosted STR Licenses are subject to following limits:

1. License Cap: Non-Hosted STR Licenses are limited to 90 City-wide.
2. Density Limits: Non-Hosted STR licenses are subject to a one-per-parcel and 55' zone of exclusion limits. The zone of exclusion is the distance of fifty-five (55) lineal feet from an existing STR parcel boundary. Please contact program staff to determine eligibility of your property based on these limits.
3. Occupancy Limits: Two adults (aged 18 or older) per bedroom plus one additional adult per site, up to a maximum of
   9 adults for homes with 4+ bedrooms.
4. Vehicle Limits: Maximum number of vehicles allowed at a Short-term Rental (both on- and off-street) cannot exceed the total number of bedrooms included in the rental.

The City of Seaside is currently accepting applications for new Non-Hosted Short-Term Rental Licenses on a first-come, first-serve basis. Applications must be submitted in person at City Hall by applicant or their representative. 

The process for application submittal will be as follows:

Step 1: Download and complete the attached application form. Please do NOT complete the inspection checklist until after your property is deemed eligible for a Non-Hosted STR license by City staff. You will be required to submit a completed Building Inspection Report once your property is determined eligible for a Non-Hosted STR license.

• Non-Hosted STR License Application

Step 2: Deliver your complete application packet and any supporting documents to the City Hall. Staff will advise on the fee amount as certain fees may prorated depending on when you are applying. 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). 

The City of Seaside is now accepting STR License renewal applications for FY23/24 (i.e. July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024). Below are the steps for STR License Renewal:

Filing a complaint: 

Call 9-1-1 if it is an emergency (such as fire, medical emergency, suspicious activity, etc.).
 
To file a complaint regarding excessive noise or a loud party, illegal parking, improper and excessive trash disposal, too many overnight guests, or any other disruptive behavior at a STR unit, please follow these steps:
 
Step 1: Contact the Local Contact Person – anytime (24/7): Local Contact information can be found on the STR placard (sample STR placard) posted on each STR unit or through the STR Database.

• If the STR Local Contact person responds, please describe your complaint and ask that your complaint be resolved immediately or within no more than 60 minutes of your request as required by the Ordinance. You may elect to provide your name and contact information to the STR  Local Contact person so they can follow up with you on your complaint.
  • If your complaint is resolved within 60 minutes from the time you notified the STR Local Contact, then the City will deem this as complete. You may notify the City of such complaint(s) via the online complaint form or via email at STR@ci.seaside.ca.us. The City will track each incident against a STR and take all incidents into account at the time of license renewal.
• If STR Local Contact person does not respond, then go to step 2. If your complaint is not resolved within 60 minutes from the time you notified the STR Local Contact, leave a voice message for the Local Contact describing your concern(s), and provide your name and contact information to the STR Local Contact so they can follow up with you on your complaint.

Step 2: Contact the Police Department at (831) 394-6811 if you are calling after business hours. If you are filing a complaint during business hours, you may call the City Hall directly at (831) 899-6729 or (831) 899-6735. When calling the Police Department and/or City Hall, please provide the STR address, a description of the nature of the activity, and any other relevant information. Complaints may be filed anonymously, however, you may wish to provide your contact information so that our code compliance staff can contact you to discuss your complaint in detail.
 
Note: If the nature of a complaint is non-emergency and cannot be resolved within 60 minutes (e.g. a tree needs pruning, a garage being used for living, or any other pre-existing condition at the STR unit that concerns you but is a non-emergency) report the situation to the Code Compliance office at (831) 899-6729 or str@ci.seaside.ca.us.
 
Reporting Illegal Short-term Rentals: Suspected illegal Short-term Rentals can be reported to the City via the following methods:

• (831) 899-6729 or (831) 899-6735
• str@ci.seaside.ca.us

Fines and Penalties for Illegal Short-term Rental Hosting
 
Violations of the City’s short-term rental ordinance are subject to administrative penalties as set forth in Chapter 2.58 and Section 17.80.050, including administrative penalties imposed by a Hearing Officer for violation of any provisions of this code in an amount not to exceed a maximum of $2,500 per day for each continuing violation, exclusive of administrative costs, interest and restitution for compliance reinspections, for any related series of violations, and/or forfeiture of all rents received during the period transient use was allowed without a Transient Use License , whichever amount is greater. 

Penalties begin on day one of illegal short-term rental activity and continue to accrue until the violation is fully abated. Repeat violations may be subject to escalated penalties including referral to the City Attorney’s Office for additional assessment (i.e. lien) on the subject property. 

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:

• Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) Return

City of Seaside
STR TOT
440 Harcourt Ave
Seaside, CA 93955

Additional Instructions:

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.

If the owner and/or street address of the STR have changed, you MUST submit a new application. If other application information (such as phone number, email, mailing address, etc.) has changed, owners/owner representatives MUST immediately supply the information to the City, without having to submit a new application. The information can be submitted to the by email at str@ci.seaside.ca.us or by phone at (831) 899-6735

If your Local Contact has changed, you MUST appoint a new Local Contact person as soon as possible. You must submit a written request and a statement with signature from your local contact person to the City.