Short Term Rental FAQ

No, the County is not considering a ban on Short Term Rentals. Instead, the County is reevaluating its existing STR ordinance to improve the availability of middle- and lower-income housing, while maintaining access to economic opportunities, services and activities in the in the unincorporated areas of the County.

The proposed Ordinance would create a regulatory framework that would include common sense standards to reduce neighborhood impacts and improve public safety. Many “good neighbor” measures have been in place for STRs since the Marin County Board of Supervisors first adopted regulations in 2018, but the proposed Ordinance introduces further regulations around water use, wastewater disposal, emergency preparedness and evacuation, and parking capacity. Operations of STRs would be limited to one per owner. Further, the number of STRs would be capped countywide and in individual communities to protect housing opportunities and support community needs.

Yes, County shared Short Term Rental data at the first five Short Term Rental Learning Sessions, held in the Fall of 2022. Based on feedback provided at these meetings, staff will continue to refine and supplement this data accordingly.

Please note, during the Learning Sessions Many community members shared their concerns with data presented by County staff related to the STR market. This data was provided by AirDNA, a data and analytics provider for the STR industry. AirDNA obtains data from Airbnb and VRBO, two online STR platforms, and as a result, may not be consistent with revenue and occupancy figures from traditional STR models such as those run by local vacation rental managers who do not use these two platforms.

Here are ways you can get involved and share your opinion:

• Subscribe: To receive updates and announcements, subscribe to the Short Term Rental webpage.
• Get in touch: You may also contact County staff with any questions by email.
• Attend a meeting:The Marin County Board of Supervisors will hold a hearing on the proposed Short Term Rental regulations the evening of January 11, 2024.

The County acknowledges that communities within the unincorporated areas of Marin have unique characteristics and amenities, which should be considered when developing regulations. For example, the development pattern and amenities in Dillon Beach, largely developed with vacation homes, vary from those in Mill Valley, which is predominantly developed with primary residences. Throughout the update to the STR ordinance, the County will continue to consider whether one-size-fits-all approach may not be feasible or realistic

The Department of Finance maintains a  Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) website where members of the public can access County data related to TOT.

The 4% extra TOT funds are split evenly between fire/emergency services and long term community housing. An oversight committee reviews the expenditure funds to ensure that the revenue is allocated for these purposes. Additional information can be found on the County’s Measure W webpage.

There are many stakeholders and public perspectives involved in this Short Term Rental Ordinance Update. From renters and affordable housing advocates to STR operators, vacation rental managers, business owners, and neighbors, many perspectives are actively involved in this work. The County is committed to an open and transparent process and will continue to do so as we move forward with the Update.

Feedback provided to date has been incorporated in these FAQs, and we will update these as necessary. Public comments received are reviewed and included in the project record. All comments received will be shared with decisionmakers as part of meeting materials. Should you want to share your thoughts in writing, please contact us at any time during this process.

Many community members have shared that operating STRs allow them to age in place and/or afford living in Marin, and suggested the County recognize the difference between hosted and unhosted STRs when considering updated regulations.

Many communities in California currently distinguish between Short Term Rentals that occur in a primary residence and those that remain full-time vacation rentals. The County will consider the ways in which people use their properties as part of this Update and anticipates different regulations for full-time residents who may rent a room in their home or occasionally offer an entire home rental.

Yes, many agencies in California are currently considering or have adopted Short Term Rental regulations. The County can learn from our neighboring communities, along with those along the California Coast when determining which regulations are right for Marin.

For example, Sonoma County recently approved new Short Term Rental regulations and are currently working with the California Coastal Commission to craft regulations for their Coastal Zone. We will continue to follow this process and engage with their staff as we work to update our Short Term Rental Ordinance.

Yes, the County understands that Short Term Rentals contribute to the local economy. For example, in addition to the Transient Occupancy Tax generated from rentals, visitors shop and dine in our communities. Rental operators employ locals who provide cleaning and maintenance services. County staff has identified a number of Short Term Rental stakeholders and plans to conduct further outreach and data collection to better understand the impacts of Short Term Rentals on the local economy.

Yes, many of the communities in West Marin are located in the Coastal Zone. The California Coastal Commission must certify a Local Coastal Program Amendment for Short Term Rental regulations in the Coastal Zone to ensure that the regulations are consistent with the Coastal Act, which protects and promotes low cost visitor accommodations and access to the Coast.

The County established Guiding Principles for the Short Term Rental Ordinance Update which include the goal of developing regulations that are clear, affordable, simple, and enforceable (C.A.S.E). We will evaluate regulations within this lens and will further develop the enforcement portion of the STR Ordinance when we have draft regulations.

That said, if you have a complaint about a Short Term Rental within the unincorporated areas of the County, you may contact our Short Term Rental Hotline at (415) 300-4445. You may also submit a complaint by filling out an online form.

The Marin County Board of Supervisors recently adopted the  2023 Housing Element. The purpose of the Housing Element is to offer an adequate supply of decent, safe, and affordable housing for the unincorporated County residents, special needs populations, and workforce. County staff will implement the policies and programs outlined in the Housing Element, such as this Short Term Rental Ordinance Update, to advance the housing goals of the County.

The Department of Finance maintains a  Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) website  where members of the public can access County data related to TOT and look up compliant Short Term Rentals.

Please review the County’s  Short Term Rental Fact Sheet.

The list of sites is derived from examining parcel data in the County’s Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) for development potential using planning, Use the County’s jurisdiction look-up tool  to determine if your address is located in the unincorporated area of the County, or in one of the cities and towns.

If you have a complaint about a Short Term Rental within the unincorporated areas of the County, you may contact our Short Term Rental Hotline at (415) 300-4445. You may also submit a complaint by filling out an online form.

At a minimum, you must have the address of the Short Term Rental when making a complaint.

Please note that this 24-hour Hotline is operated by Host Compliance, a third-party contractor that provides Short Term Rental compliance and monitoring services to the County. Your complaint will be logged by Host Compliance, and if you select the option to inform the person listed as the Local Contact of the complaint, Host Compliance will contact the Local Contact Person to inform them of the issue.

Any complaint received by the Hotline will be logged and provided to County staff for review during regular office hours. Staff may follow up with you or the Short Term Rental operator, as necessary.

If you have a non-emergency complaint associated with noise, parties, trespassing, and/or traffic/parking related issues, please contact the Marin County Sheriff’s Office at (415) 473-7250.

If you feel that the safety of you or others within your community is at risk, please contact 911

The Marin County Board of Supervisors is tentatively scheduled for the evening of January 11, 2024 to consider the proposed STR regulations. In order to submit comments on the draft ordinance, please email the Board of Supervisors directly at BOS@marincounty.org. All public comments will be collected and provided to the Board prior to the upcoming hearings.

The “Townships of the County of Marin” map will show you in which community your property is located. If you still have questions after taking a look at this Map, please reach out to us .

Proposed regulations require that a Short Term Rental owner must have a septic system that is documented as legal with the Community Development Agency Environmental Health Services Division (EHS) or another appropriate public agency. In most cases, the required documentation will be a copy of your septic permit. If you think that your septic system may be from a time before septic regulations were in place, please reach out to the EHS at (415) 473-6907 to discuss how you can demonstrate compliance with the proposed regulations.

We are still working to develop the administrative side of the Short Term Rental program, but self-certification could be similar to The City of San Rafael’s building safety checklist and vegetation checklist for Short Term Rentals..

The Board supported a countywide limit of 1,200 STR licenses, which breaks down further in west Marin where caps are specific to each visitor-serving community.

Other key elements of the updated Marin ordinance include:

• STRs are limited to one per operator.
• Licenses must be renewed by property owners every two years.
• A one-time ownership transfer of an STR can be made at any time.
• Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) built in 2020 or later cannot be used as STRs, consistent with state law.
• Muir Woods Park, located off Panoramic Drive on the slopes of Mount Tamalpais, was added to the list of community specific caps; the current number of 19 STRs will serve as the maximum.
• No more than 50% of developed properties can be used as STRs in Dillon Beach and Seadrift, communities that by far have a higher percentage of STRs.

The proposed regulations must now be certified by the California Coastal Commission as part of a Local Coastal Program Amendment. Once the Coastal Commission certifies the proposed regulations, staff will return to the Board of Supervisors to formally adopt the STR Ordinance.

For more information, the revised Board resolution is available for review.

In short, no. First, the California Coastal Commission must certify the proposed STR regulations. Once regulations are certified staff will need to bring the STR Ordinance back to the Board for adoption.

Ideally, the Board would adopt the STR Ordinance this spring, before the Moratorium ends on May 23, 2024. Once adopted, the County can implement the STR program, which will include publishing the process by which STR owners would apply for a STR license. This process has not yet been developed since we do not know what the final regulations will be.

That said, the proposed regulations outline the initial application process:

 

Section 5.41.050.D - Application Process. An application for a short term rental license shall be submitted by the property owner or their agent (written property owner authorization and contact information is required for an agent to file the application) to the Community Development Agency.

 

No license application shall be accepted until the Community Development Agency has made publicly available the administrative procedures. Only license applications for legal short term rentals in existence on January 1, 2024 will be accepted before July 1, 2025.

 

Applications for properties where there is no legal short term rental in existence on January 1, 2024, will be placed on a wait list until all existing short term rental property owners have had the opportunity to apply for a license.  

 

We will inform those who subscribe to the STR webpage when applications will be accepted and will most likely update this webpage with information about the waitlist as well.

The California Coastal Commission must certify the proposed STR regulations. Once regulations are certified staff will need to bring the STR Ordinance back to the Board for adoption.

Ideally, the Board would adopt the STR Ordinance this spring, before the Moratorium ends on May 23, 2024. Once adopted, the County can implement the STR program, which will include publishing the process by which STR owners would apply for a STR license. This process has not yet been developed since we do not know what the final regulations will be.

That said, the proposed regulations outline the initial application process:

 

Section 5.41.050.D - Application Process. An application for a short term rental license shall be submitted by the property owner or their agent (written property owner authorization and contact information is required for an agent to file the application) to the Community Development Agency.

 

No license application shall be accepted until the Community Development Agency has made publicly available the administrative procedures. Only license applications for legal short term rentals in existence on January 1, 2024 will be accepted before July 1, 2025.

 

Applications for properties where there is no legal short term rental in existence on January 1, 2024, will be placed on a wait list until all existing short term rental property owners have had the opportunity to apply for a license.  

 

We will inform those who subscribe to the STR webpage when applications will be accepted and will most likely update this webpage with information about the waitlist as well.

No STR license application shall be accepted until the Community Development Agency has made publicly available the administrative procedures for a STR license. As a result, there is currently no open waitlist for STR Licenses. Subscribe to the STR webpage to be kept informed of any changes as we continue to develop the administrative side of the STR program.

Mainly West Marin, including Nicasio and the San Geronimo Valley. Find out if a property is subject to the current moratorium.

Due to the small size of West Marin communities and the growing popularity of Short Term Rentals, the impacts for residents and community services are particularly acute, requiring consideration of near-term action.

A significant proportion of the housing in some communities has been converted to commercial use in the form of STRs; for example, 25 percent of all housing units in Marshall and 27 percent in Stinson Beach are registered as Short Term Rentals. In comparison, about 3% of homes in the unincorporated areas of Mill Valley are used as Short Term Rentals.

f you currently have a valid business license and Transient Occupancy Tax certificate as of May 24, 2022, and you renew as required, you may continue to operate your short-term rental in accordance with the County’s standards.

The moratorium will expire May 23, 2024, or when the California Coastal Commission certifies the County’s STR regulations.

No. The registrations follow the owner and the associated property/parcel. If you sell the property, you will need to close both registrations and the new owner will need to apply for a new business license and TOT Certificate, if they plan to use the property as a STR.

If you own another property, you would also need to reapply for another business license and TOT certificate number. You cannot operate two different short-term rentals under one TOT certificate number.

As such, under the moratorium if someone sells their property, their buyer could not retain the short-term rental use, nor could someone add another short-term rental under an existing registration.

Registration is not expected to reopen while the moratorium is in effect. There is no waiting list.

The moratorium, if adopted, would effectively prohibit new short-term rentals in the West Marin Transient Occupancy Tax Area while the County evaluates the best way to regulate short-term rentals in the future. As a result, housing that would have otherwise been used for a new short-term rental in this area will be available for other purposes, such as permanent housing./p>

Prior to STR Moratorium staff exceeded public noticing requirements & conducted the following outreach:

• Advertisements of Board Meetings were placed in the Marin IJ in conformance with State Law.
• Press releases announcing the moratorium
• Stories were written in local media including the Marin IJ, Point Reyes Light, SF Chronicle, and KQED.
• Radio stories and interviews on the subject on KWMR and KQED
• Notifications sent to compliant and non-compliant Short Term Rental operators, long term rental operators, and Short Term Rental operators with expired Business Licenses.

From the date the moratorium was announced (May 5, 2022) to the date the moratorium was adopted (May 24, 2022) over 140 homeowners obtained the required licenses to operate Short Term Rentals in West Marin.

The County is not considering changes to the moratorium at this time. The moratorium will expire May 23, 2024, or when the California Coastal Commission certifies the County’s STR regulations.