Tehama Municipal Code Ch. 4.13 Short-Term Rental Permit

This chapter shall apply to short-term rental property as defined herein.

The regulations set forth in this chapter are independent from and do not apply to other special uses that may be regulated by other zoning standards, such as:

A. Hotel/motels, lodges, resorts, permitted bed and breakfast operations, timeshares, fractional ownership lodging facilities, or boarding or rooming houses of more than thirty days.

B. Mobilehome parks, organized camps, and/or special occupancy parks administered under Title 25 of the California Administrative Code (Mobilehome Parks Act).

C. Occupancy of public or permitted private campgrounds and recreational vehicle parks, unless authorized by resolution of board of supervisors.

(Ord. No. 2135, § 3.B, 5-21-2024)

A. "Short-term rental" means transient occupancy of, and/or short-term rental of, a residence or an equivalent dwelling unit for short-term vacation lodging for a period of time less than thirty consecutive days as may be advertised or offered by a property owner, or by residential management service, or on a property management website.

B. "Transient occupancy tax" means county tax imposed for any short-term rental or lodging as defined by Chapter 4.12 of this Code.

(Ord. No. 2135, § 3.B, 5-21-2024)

A. No person shall offer any dwelling on residential property for transient occupancy of thirty days or less as a short-term rental property unless a permit to operate a short-term rental ("short-term rental permit") is obtained pursuant to this chapter.

B. An owner of a short-term rental property may apply for a short-term rental permit from the Tehama County Tax Collector, as specified in this chapter.

C. The permit will be valid until the end of the county fiscal year of June 30, and all fees will be prorated in a manner prescribed by the Tehama County Tax Collector.

D. All short-term rental permits are revocable and nontransferable.

E. Application for a short-term rental permit shall be in a form prescribed by the Tehama County Tax Collector, with all information determined by the Tehama County Tax Collector to be necessary to evaluate the applicant, consistent with this chapter.

F. The Tehama County Tax Collector shall in its sole discretion consider the following factors when evaluating applications for a short-term rental permit:

1. The timeliness and completeness of an application.

2. Evidence of compliance with the provisions of transient occupancy tax, Chapter 4.12 of this Code, including evidence of a transient occupancy registration certificate, payment of all taxes, penalties, and interest due for any short-term rentals prior to the date of application.

3. Whether the applicant has ever violated this chapter, or the terms of a short-term rental permit, or had the same or similar type of permit suspended or revoked.

4. Reserved.

5. Whether the applicant and/or applicant's agents associated with applicant's short-term rental have ever made a false, misleading, or fraudulent statement:

a. In the application for a short-term rental permit;

b. In any report or record required to be filed with the county; or

c. In response to inquiries by the county.

6. Whether the issuance of a permit to the applicant is in the interest of the public health, safety, and welfare.

7. Payment of a processing fee established by resolution of the board of supervisors through a resolution.

8. Any other additional information necessary to demonstrate applicant's eligibility and compliance with this chapter.

(Ord. No. 2135, § 3.B, 5-21-2024)

Short-term rental permits are issued at the sole discretion of the Tehama County Tax Collector, and are subject to the following conditions:

A. The owner must demonstrate full conformance with this Code, including, but not limited to:

1. Chapter 4.12, including filing timely and accurate transient occupancy tax returns, and remitting any tax and any penalties and interest due as required.

B. The owner shall ensure that all advertising, including, but not limited to, in any written publication or on any online website, or any other medium that lists or offers the availability or existence of the short-term rental property, shall include the county-issued short-term rental permit number and transient occupancy registration certificate number.

C. All short-term rental properties shall comply with any additional provisions placed on them by the Tehama County Board of Supervisors by ordinance or resolution.

(Ord. No. 2135, § 3.B, 5-21-2024)

A. The Tehama County Tax Collector may revoke, or suspend a short-term rental permit for one or more of the following reasons:

1. A property transfer triggering property tax reassessment pursuant to California Revenue and Taxation Code Section 60 et seq., a "change in ownership" means a transfer of a present interest in real property, including the beneficial use thereof, the value of which is substantially equal to the value of the fee interest, as determined by the Tehama County Assessor such that the short-term rental permit associated with the property shall expire, and shall also become nonrenewable at the time of the property transfer.

2. The permittee has made a false, misleading or fraudulent statement of material fact in the application for the short-term rental permit, in the information required to be submitted to the county, or in response to inquiries by the county.

3. The permittee engaged in any of the following conduct related to this chapter that:

a. Resulted in a citation or conviction against the permittee;

b. Violated local, state or federal law;

c. Constituted a public nuisance;

d. Breached any condition, requirement, or restriction of the short-term rental permit; or

e. Constituted a hazard to public peace, health, or safety.

4. Three or more verified and valid complaints of any violation of this Code, state, or federal law, as determined by the Tehama County Tax Collector, within a twelve-month period, shall be grounds for permit revocation.

B. Written notice to the permittee setting forth the basis of the intended action and giving the permittee an opportunity, within fourteen calendar days, to present responding information to the Tehama County Tax Collector.

C. After the fourteen-day period, the Tehama County Tax Collector shall determine whether to revoke the permit, suspend the permit, or impose additional conditions upon the permit and thereafter, give written notice of its decision to the permittee. The permit shall be deemed to be valid until the written notice of the decision has been issued.

(Ord. No. 2135, § 3.B, 5-21-2024)

A. Any person or entity operating a short-term rental in the county, including a hosting platform, in violation of any of the provisions of this chapter or in violation of any of the conditions set forth in the applicable short-term rental permit, shall be subject to Section 10.16.

B. The "enforcing officer" pursuant to Section 10.16.030 shall be the Tehama County Tax Collector.

C. The board of supervisors declares that this chapter was enacted for the significant public benefit promoting public health, safety, and welfare to minimize any adverse impact on the community due to unregulated short-term rental property, and to maintain long-term rental housing stock in the county. Therefore, if a private attorney general plaintiff successfully brings an action to enforce this chapter against any offenders of this chapter, it is the desire and intent of the County of Tehama that the successful plaintiff be able to recover its reasonable attorneys' fees under Code of Civil Procedure Section 1021.5, or any similar private attorney general successor statute.

D. The board of supervisors hereby finds and declares that violations of this chapter constitute a public nuisance, and which may be enjoined under all applicable law, the prevailing party to an action or proceeding to enjoin a public nuisance arising from violations of this chapter shall recover the amount of its reasonable attorneys' fees.

E. All administrative costs, fines, and penalties are subject to lien on the property pursuant to the provisions of Section 10.16.190.

F. If any person or entity is cited for operating a short-term rental under Chapter 10.16 in violation of this chapter, and is assessed the underlying transient occupancy, shall be assessed at full occupancy plus interest, fines, fees or costs, which shall constitute the administrative costs, the full amount shall place such charge upon the next tax roll by the Tehama County Tax Collector as a special charge against the premises pursuant to Section 10.16.190 of this Code and Section 25845 of the Government Code.

G. The remedies provided herein shall be cumulative and not exclusive. No remedy provided in this chapter shall be deemed to be a prerequisite to the taking of any other action provided for herein.

(Ord. No. 2135, § 3.B, 5-21-2024)

A. For purposes of this chapter a hosting platform shall be responsible for collecting all applicable uniform transient occupancy tax required by Chapter 4.12 and remitting the same to the county. The hosting platform shall be considered an agent of the short-term rental operator for purposes of transient occupancy tax collections and remittance, as set forth in Chapter 4.12, if the hosting platform collects payment for the rental. If a hosting platform does not collect payment for rentals, the operator is solely responsible for the collection of all applicable transient occupancy taxes.

B. The provisions of this section shall be interpreted in accordance with otherwise applicable state and federal laws and will not apply if determined by the county to be in violation of, or preempted by, such laws.

(Ord. No. 2142, § 3, 12-17-2024)