Is Airbnb Legal in Long Beach? 2026 Rules, Permits & Taxes

Registration required

Yes

Taxes on a stay

13%

Fine for hosting without a permit

$1,000

Listings showing a permit number

82%

Latest rule change

Oct 1, 2026

Listing figures: AirROI, 12 months to September 2026. A number on a listing doesn't prove the permit or license is valid, and a missing one doesn't prove there is none.

The rules in brief

Who needs it

Every host renting a home or part of a home for 1 to 30 consecutive nights, including through Airbnb. An individual may hold one primary-residence registration and one non-primary registration.^3,5,11,12

Issued by

City of Long Beach Community Development Department (Code Enforcement Bureau)

Valid for

One year from the date of approval; not transferable and does not run with the property. Renewal applications are due 30 days before expiry, and unfinished applications lapse 45 days after the city's review.

Processing

Applications wait in a review queue, and the timing depends on staff workload and on how complete the documents are; after review the applicant has 45 days to finish any corrections.

On listings

The number must appear on every listing

Platform checks

Hosting platforms must list the registration number and expiration date, must not complete a booking for a listing the city says has no valid registration, must remove listings when the city asks, and must send the city a monthly report of registration numbers, addresses, nights booked and prices.

Fees

Who qualifies

• The unit must be a legally permitted dwelling; accessory dwelling units (ADUs), junior ADUs, garages, pool houses, casitas, rumpus rooms and live-work spaces do not qualify
• Primary Residence registration: the unit must be on the same parcel as the applicant's primary residence, the place they live at least 275 days a year, shown by two documents such as a driver's license, voter registration or utility bill
• Non-Primary Residence registration: any owner of residential property in Long Beach, subject to the 800-unit citywide cap (350 in the coastal zone)
• A tenant needs a signed and notarized Property Owner Authorization; an LLC applicant needs a notarized authority agreement
• No pending code enforcement actions or unpaid code citation fees on the property
• The building must not be on the city's Prohibited Buildings List, and units per building are limited (1 unit in a 2 to 10 unit building, 10% of 11 to 50 units, 12% of 51 to 100, 15% of 101 or more)
• The city inspects every area guests will use before approving the registration

How to apply

1. 1 Choose the registration type: Primary Residence (a unit on the same parcel as your home) or Non-Primary Residence (a second home).
2. 2 Check that the unit is a qualified dwelling, not an ADU, and that the building is not on the Prohibited Buildings List; gather two proofs of primary residence, a notarized owner authorization if you rent, and your county assessor identification number.
3. 3 Primary Residence: apply through the city's online registration portal and pay the $545 review fee. Non-Primary Residence: submit an Application of Interest, which brings either a reservation to register or a place on the waiting list if the 800 cap has been reached.
4. 4 Pass the city inspection of every area guests will use and fix any hazards; finish any corrections within 45 days of the city's review or the application lapses and the fee is forfeited.
5. 5 Post the registration number and expiration date on every listing, and file the monthly hotel tax report using the same registration number.

Permit rules

Registration before advertising or renting

No one may advertise, rent or operate a short-term rental in Long Beach without a city registration, and the operator answers for every requirement of Chapter 5.77.³

Registration number and expiration date on every listing

All advertising, including each listing on a hosting platform, must clearly show the city-issued registration number and its expiration date.^3,5

Platforms may not book unregistered rentals

Hosting platforms may not complete a booking for a listing the city says lacks a valid registration, must remove listings when notified, and must report each listing's registration number, address, nights booked and price to the city every month.³ Applies to: Hosting platforms

Yearly renewal; three citations block it

A registration lasts one year and is renewed with another $545 review fee and a year of tax records. It cannot be renewed if the owner or operator has three or more citations in any 18-month period.^3,5

Advertised price must include mandatory fees

Since July 1, 2024, California's Honest Pricing Law (SB 478) bars a host or platform from advertising a short-term rental price that leaves out mandatory fees; government taxes and fees may be listed separately.⁴ In force since July 1, 2024

Primary and non-primary registrations

A host may hold one Primary Residence registration and one Non-Primary Residence registration at the same time.^3,5

Primary residence means 275 days a year

A primary residence is a person's permanent residence or usual place of return for at least 275 days of the calendar year, and the rental unit must be on the same parcel as that home.⁵ Applies to: Primary Residence registrations

Second homes have no night cap

Anyone who owns residential property in Long Beach that is not their primary residence can register it as a non-primary rental, with hosted and unhosted rental allowed for an unlimited number of days.⁵ Applies to: Non-Primary Residence registrations

800 non-primary registrations citywide

At most 800 non-primary registrations can operate at one time, with a waiting list once the limit is reached; the City Council reviews the number every year.^3,5 Applies to: Non-Primary Residence registrations

350 non-primary registrations in the coastal zone

The coastal zone has its own limit of 350 non-primary registrations, set at the California Coastal Commission's request, and the citywide cap does not block new coastal registrations until those 350 are used.^7,8 Applies to: Coastal zone · In force since September 6, 2022

Limits on units per building

In a multi-unit property or development, one unit may be a short-term rental in a building of 2 to 10 units; larger developments are limited to 10% of units (11 to 50), 12% (51 to 100) or 15% (101 or more).^3,5 Applies to: Multi-unit buildings

Accessory dwelling units are excluded

Accessory dwelling units and junior accessory dwelling units cannot be registered as short-term rentals, and neither can garages, pool houses, casitas, rumpus rooms, storage rooms or live-work spaces.^3,5

Tenants need the owner's notarized approval

A renter or lessee can register only with a signed and notarized Property Owner Authorization. The city also states that tenants may not be evicted in order to re-list a unit as a short-term rental.^3,5 Applies to: Tenants

Landlords and HOAs can bar short-term rentals

Apartment building owners and homeowners' associations can have their property placed on the city's Prohibited Buildings List, after which no one can register a short-term rental there; in the coastal zone this applies only to rules recorded before 1977.^3,5 Applies to: Apartment buildings and HOAs

Stays of 1 to 30 nights are short-term rentals

Any rental to paying guests of one to thirty consecutive nights counts as a short-term rental, and the city sets no minimum number of nights.⁵

No minimum stay

Long Beach does not require a minimum number of nights for booked stays.⁵

90 unhosted nights a year in a primary residence

A primary-residence rental may be booked for at most 90 days per registration year when the host is not on site; hosted stays have no limit.^3,5 Applies to: Primary Residence registrations

Neighborhoods can vote to ban unhosted rentals

Owners in a census tract block group can petition the city to prohibit unhosted rentals there; a majority of owners must sign, and a restriction lasts at least three years. The city's list of petitions shows two block groups that passed.^3,10 Applies to: Census tract block groups

City inspection before approval

The city inspects every area guests will use and documents it; hazards must be fixed before the registration is issued, and a listing may not offer any area that was not inspected.^3,5

Fire extinguishers, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors

Hosts must keep working fire extinguishers, smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, and post an evacuation plan showing exits and extinguisher locations in the unit.^3,5

$1,000,000 liability insurance

Hosts must carry liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 in the aggregate for the short-term rental use, or book every stay through a platform that provides equal or greater coverage.³

Two guests per bedroom plus two, up to eight

No more than two people per bedroom plus two more may be on the property at once, counting the host and children, with an absolute maximum of eight; a studio counts as zero bedrooms and sleeps two.^3,5

Events need an occasional event permit

Parties, weddings and other events above the occupancy limit are prohibited unless the host first obtains an Occasional Event Permit from the Special Events office, up to four per registration year.^3,5

24/7 contact who answers within one hour

The host or a designated emergency contact must be reachable at all hours and respond within one hour to complaints the city forwards, then take action to resolve them; the city runs a 24/7 complaint hotline at 562.568.8665.^3,5

Pools and spas closed 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.

Outdoor pools, spas and hot tubs cannot be used between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., and no sign advertising the rental may be posted on the outside of the property.^3,5

Median nightly rate, booked nights

$200

Taxes on that night (13%)

$26

Guest pays, before Airbnb and cleaning fees

$226

What the host still handles

• A city short-term rental registration number, which is also the login for the city's online hotel tax portal
• A monthly hotel tax report to the city, due on the 10th of the following month, including bookings Airbnb already collected and months with $0.00 in rentals
• For bookings on any platform other than Airbnb, collecting the 13% from guests and paying it to the city yourself^5,6,13

• Fines are $1,000 for each violation, and one event or several continuing days can bring several citations; unregistered rentals in the coastal zone have been subject to the $1,000 fine since September 6, 2022.^3,7
• Three citations against a property within 18 months can lead the city to revoke, suspend or disallow the registration or add conditions; after a revocation, no unit on that parcel can be registered for at least 12 months.³
• A violation that involves violence at the rental counts double toward the three citations, and the city can cancel or suspend a registration if the host does not remedy such an incident.³
• A host or platform found in violation in a civil or administrative action must repay the city's investigative and enforcement costs and unpaid hotel tax, and hand over rental revenue obtained illegally.³
• A late hotel tax report or payment draws a penalty of 25% of the tax due, followed by a further 50% if it stays unpaid.⁵

1. October 1, 2026
   Registration review fee rises to $545

   Under the fiscal year 2027 fee schedule approved by the City Council on September 8, 2026, the short-term rental registration review fee rose from $500 to $545 per application on October 1, 2026.^5,11,12

2. October 2026
   City reviewing the ordinance for updates

   As of October 2026 the city's short-term rental page states that Long Beach is reviewing its ordinance for possible updates.⁵

3. October 13, 2025
   State law lets cities require platform address reports

   SB 346, approved October 13, 2025, authorizes a city to require booking platforms to report the address of each short-term rental and to show the local license number on listings.²

4. February 11, 2025
   City Council rewrites the short-term rental chapter

   Ordinance ORD-25-0001, adopted February 11, 2025, replaced Chapter 5.77 of the municipal code in its entirety, carrying forward the 800-unit cap, the 90-day unhosted limit, the $1,000 fine and platform duties.³

5. September 6, 2022
   Registration required in the coastal zone

   After the Coastal Commission approved the ordinance on May 13, 2022, Long Beach began enforcing the registration rules in the coastal zone on September 6, 2022, with a $1,000 fine for unregistered rentals.⁷

Estimate what a Long Beach home could earn

1. 1. California Revenue and Taxation Code section 7280 - Occupancy taxes · California Legislative Information
2. 2. SB 346 Local agencies: transient occupancy taxes: short-term rental facilitator · California Legislative Information
3. 3. Long Beach Municipal Code, Chapter 5.77 - Short-Term Rentals · City of Long Beach (Municode)
4. 4. SB 478 - Hidden Fees (Honest Pricing Law) · California Attorney General
5. 5. Short-Term Rentals (STRs) · City of Long Beach Community Development Department
6. 6. Transient Occupancy Tax · City of Long Beach Financial Management
7. 7. City of Long Beach to Begin Enforcement of Registered Short-Term Rentals in Coastal Zone (press release, August 10, 2022) · City of Long Beach
8. 8. Notice of approval with suggested modifications, Local Coastal Program Amendment No. LCP-5-LOB-20-0058-3 (Short-Term Rentals) · California Coastal Commission
9. 9. Short-Term Rental Registered Addresses (Power BI dashboard) · City of Long Beach Community Development Department
10. 10. Petitions Conducted (Census Tract Block Group Map) · City of Long Beach Community Development Department
11. 11. Proposed Adjustments to City Fees and Charges, Fiscal Year 2027 · City of Long Beach
12. 12. Community Development Fee Schedules · City of Long Beach Community Development Department
13. 13. Occupancy tax collection and remittance by Airbnb in California · Airbnb Help Center