Welcome to Vacation Rentals

The Department of Special Program Compliance is responsible for administering the Rules and Regulations adopted by the Council for Vacation Rentals within the City of Palm Springs.

The City Council adopted Ordinance 2075 on November 28, 2022. Ordinance 2075 amended and restated the City's adopted Vacation Rental Ordinance. The Ordinance confirms:

• Vacation Rentals and Homesharing are only allowed as ancillary and secondary uses of residential property in the City.
• Establishes a regulatory program for Vacation Rental and Homesharing lodging to minimize adverse effects of vacation rental uses on surrounding residential neighborhoods.
• Limits Vacation Rental and Homesharing lodging to single-family dwelling units and prohibits Vacation Rental and Homesharing lodging in apartments.
• Provides a permitting process and imposes operational requirements.
• Confirms vacation rental registration certificate is a privilege; not a right.

On November 12, 2025, The Palm Springs City Council adopted Ordinance 2118 amending sections 5.25.070(b) of the City's Vacation Rental Ordinance, regarding the annual cap on the number of Vacation Rental that can occur on residential property within the City of Palm Springs. 

• Ordinance 2118 removed an upcoming reduction in the annual number of short-term rentals of certain residential properties "Existing Permittees" which reduction would otherwise have went into effect on January 1, 2026.
  • For New Permittees, which means a property for which a complete application for a vacation rental registration certificate was filed with the city after October 17, 2022, no more that 26 contracts for Vacation Rental use of a property shall be allowed or provided in any calendar year.
  • For Existing Permittees, which means  a property for which a vacation rental registration certificate has been issued, or for which a complete application has been filed with the city, on or before October 17, 2022,  no more than 32 contracts for Vacation Rental use of a property shall be allowed or provided in any calendar year; however up to four additional contracts shall be allowed or provided for the third quarter of the calendar year so long as the entire term of such contract occurs during the third quarter.

Clarification Regarding Airbnb Email on Tax Collection 

Dear Vacation Rental Owners,

City staff have been made aware of an email recently sent by Airbnb titled “Simplifying taxes on Airbnb.” The email states in part:

“Today, your tax settings indicate that you’re collecting and submitting the taxes Airbnb typically submits on behalf of hosts. Starting March 30, Airbnb will begin doing this automatically on behalf of all hosts.”

We would like to clarify that the City of Palm Springs does not have any agreement or arrangement with Airbnb to collect and remit taxes on behalf of vacation rental owners. Airbnb is not authorized to collect and remit City taxes on behalf of owners.

The email referenced above includes a link titled “List of Taxes,” which provides additional clarification regarding jurisdictions where Airbnb does have agreements or authorization to collect and remit taxes. This information may help explain the circumstances referenced in Airbnb’s communication.

Vacation rental owners remain responsible for ensuring that all applicable City taxes are properly collected and remitted in accordance with our local requirement.

If you have questions about the message you received or about the tax settings on your Airbnb account, we encourage you to contact Airbnb directly for account-specific assistance.

**IMPORTANT NOTICE**

Ordinance 2075 introduce and established Vacation Rental Certificate caps of 20% based on Organized Neighborhood total residential dwelling units. For information relating to Vacation Rental neighborhood percentage caps, which includes a Vacation Rental table and online web map, please CLICK HERE

**IMPORTANT NOTICE**

Vacation Rental Certificate processing has moved to an online format provided by our vendor GovOS. Find more information by visiting our Vacation Rental Certificate Online Application webpage