Regulated by City of San Luis Obispo. This is the strictest jurisdiction in the county, and the distinction catches most owners out: the City of San Luis Obispo does not permit whole-home short-term rentals at all. Renting an entire property the owner does not live in is prohibited. What is allowed is a "homestay" — renting rooms inside your own primary residence, with the owner living there, capped at four adults at a time and stays of no more than 30 consecutive days. A homestay permit plus a business licence runs to roughly $900 in fees. If you own a second property inside the city limits, it cannot legally be a short-term rental.
Confirm the current San Luis Obispo city Transient Occupancy Tax rate and any district assessment with the city before quoting a guest-facing total.
Worth knowing: a stay of 31 nights or longer is not a short-term rental, so permit caps and freezes do not reach it. We do not take on 31+ night rentals yet — that is licensed activity in California and we will offer it when ours issues. We would still rather you knew the option exists, so ask and we will point you the right way.
In San Luis Obispo an existing permit is genuinely valuable — it cannot currently be replaced, so the job is running it well and never missing a renewal. Your permit stays in your name either way. How switching works.
We hold no doors inside the city, and under the homestay-only rule a whole-home rental is not something we could run here for you. Avila Beach is 15 minutes from downtown and 20 from Cal Poly, which is how most visiting families actually solve this — and it is where our homes are.
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Permit rules and tax rates change. Confirm current requirements with City of San Luis Obispo.