Short-Term Rental Ordinance

Butte County's Short-Term Rental Ordinance was adopted by unanimous vote of the Board of Supervisors vote on March 26, 2019, and became effective on April 25, 2019. Short-term rentals require approval of an administrative permit issued by the Department of Development Services.

Providing temporary housing during the Camp Fire recovery: Temporary emergency housing is not regulated by the Short-Term Rental Ordinance. An administrative permit is not required to provide no-cost temporary housing to individuals displaced by the Camp Fire or relief workers involved in the Camp Fire recovery. Online hospitality services such as Airbnb may be utilized for the purposes of providing such temporary emergency housing during the Camp Fire recovery.

Do you have questions about short-term rentals? Call us at 530-552-3701 or send us an email.

General Information

Requirement for Local Property Manager

Rentals must have a local property manager who is available 24 hours per day during the times the property is rented. For hosted stays, the property owner is the primary resident of the rental unit and remains on-site during the rental stay. Un-hosted stays must have a local property manager or designee of the owner to supervise the rental and ensure compliance with all operational requirements.

Complaints About a Short-Term Rental

The Department of Development Services would like to ensure that the short-term rental property does not alter the quality of life for you, or persons living at your residence, or unduly affect the character of your existing neighborhood. To this end, if you or persons residing at your property experience unreasonable or offensive behaviors from the tenants of the short-term rental, we strongly encourage you to contact the rental's designated property manager by phone, text, or email to resolve the situation. The designated property manager will be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is required to resolve and respond to any complaints they receive in a timely manner (within 30 minutes).

If for any reason the property manager has not responded in a timely manner or has not successfully addressed your concerns, please call Butte County's short-term rental complaint hotline at 530-250-4118 (24 hours a day).

Reporting and Paying Transient Occupancy Tax on Short-Term Rentals

Per Butte County Code Section 23-A, the County of Butte levies a Transient Occupancy Tax of 6% for overnight stays in unincorporated area hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, campsites, and RV parks. The authority to levy TOT is granted to the legislative bodies of both cities and counties by Revenue and Taxation Code 7280. The Treasurer-Tax Collector's Department is responsible for collecting the tax on behalf of the County.

Treasurer-Tax Collector Information on Transient Occupancy Tax